TRUE CHARITY
By Elder Mark Green
“And this he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (Jn. 12.6).
Judas Iscariot had just complained about Mary’s supposed waste of spikenard when she anointed the feet of Jesus with it. “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (v. 5). Now, why did Judas say this? He spoke about charity, but was true charity the moving cause of his words? John tells us that he said it because “he had the bag.” Evidently he was the keeper of the common funds which were possessed by Jesus and His disciples. Covetousness, not charity, was the motivation for his statement.
I am not impressed by great charitable contributions that come from a deep purse. Multi-billionaires who give multiplied millions and have multiplied billions left after their gifts have worked no hardship upon themselves. Their names will be trumpeted from the newspapers and engraved upon plaques in public places. They will become even more famous because of their deeds. There are buildings which to this day stand as a testimony to the generosity of rich men – and not a person remembers the poor people who may have given a few dollars to the same cause at a much greater relative cost to themselves.
Jesus commended the poor widow who gave all she had, although it was little enough.
The apostle tells us that charity “seeketh not her own.” Pride and greed and vanity are contrary to the true spirit of charity. A truly charitable person does not act so as to get the credit for his gift. Our Savior warned us, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Mt. 6.1).
He says of men who give alms in such a way as to draw attention to themselves, “They have their reward” (v. 2). They do it “that they may have glory of men,” and that is what they get, but they do not get the approval of God.
Judas did not care for the poor. He was a thief; he cared for money and for himself. The giving to the poor that he suggested had nothing to do with true charity, but with greed. True charity is a purely unselfish act. Where selfishness begins, charity ends.
Deacons are to oversee the care of the poor in the church, and one of the requirements for the office is that they are “not greedy of filthy lucre.” They are to care for the poor in a manner that is entirely unselfish. When the church engages in charity, the men who are primarily entrusted with supervising the work are to be men whose spirit of true charity is unquestioned.
Perhaps nothing pleases our Lord so much as true charity. After all, that is what He mentioned as the strongest of evidences of grace in Matthew Chapter 25. May we always be of tender, giving hearts, for in so doing we will be emulating our Lord. – Editor