What is charity?
If you wait for the good of gratitude - you do not give good, you sell it. © Omar Khayyam.
We continue the column - What is charity? In this section, we talk about charity in general, learn from famous and beloved artists, writers, scientists, public figures and many others, what is this process and why is it for each of us?
This time, the guests of our column were: volunteer - Tasha Shapiro, TV presenter and artist - Svetlana Leontieva, as well as a priest , publicist and missionary - Eugene Zapletnyuk.
Tasha Shapiro, volunteer:
Tasha, what does charity mean to you? Why do charity work?
Charity is an integral part of my life. Charity is a combination of the two words "good / create", and it is a voluntary choice of the type, time, place and content of assistance!
Often, we hear - "charitable donations" ... In our country, this cult of "sacrifice" is particularly pronounced, not culture. People "sacrifice" their interests, lives, finances, comfort, reputation, goals for the sake of others, and then regret the irritation that their sacrifice is not appreciated as they would like, and reproach. In my opinion, these are two different concepts in terms of content ... Sacrifice is to tear oneself away from oneself with some strain, to absolve oneself of responsibility, to fulfill one’s sense of duty, law, religion, but without a response in one’s soul: , I will be credited, I will be good to others, etc.
Charity comes from compassion, mercy and love for people! The desire to do good and important, and to receive from it the energy impulse of happiness to transmit the impulse to others! After all, at all times there have been and are people and social problems that need the intervention and help of people who are able to solve these problems. Natural disasters, wars, poverty, environmental catastrophes - this is all that accompanies humanity throughout its existence.
Are you for or against public charity, or should it be everyone’s business?
In the USSR, there was no concept of charity. The very lack of selfish motives inherent in charity was completely beyond the comprehension of the Soviet authorities, so it was suppressed in every possible way.
The union has collapsed, and society still continues to regard charity as something to be kept quiet about. In developed countries, this is the norm and tradition. People are proud of their charitable deeds and do not hide, thus encouraging others to join. That’s why I’m for publicity. Genuine help is always distinguishable from PR! But if a person does not want to advertise, then it is his private business. Charity, as I wrote above, is a voluntary choice of a person and he chooses as he sees fit. There is something that needs to be done quietly, and there is something that needs to be talked about, because silence will not provide the necessary help in time.
Shares, is it the duty of rich people or their voluntary choice?
Charity is not a duty, but a voluntary choice, regardless of wealth! No one owes anyone! After all, the form of expression of charity is not always finance:
it can be the transfer of knowledge and skills, so to speak, "not only to give fish, but also a fishing rod, learning to fish"; the transfer of food, clothing, appliances, property, etc., which a couple needs less or not at all, but so necessary to others; free provision and performance of professional services and works; psychological support; household assistance, etc.
Often such help is more important than material, and each person can prove himself in a good deed, not having financial wealth, but having spiritual and professional wealth. After all, everyone has different criteria for wealth!
Eugene Zapletnyuk, priest, publicist, missionary:
What is charity in general and for you personally, what are its manifestations?
A philanthropist is a person who does good. And, in fact, it doesn’t really matter which way you do it: money, time, attention or a kind word. Another thing is important. Everyone, without exception, must remember that charity is a sign of the norm. We often forget that a person, like any high-tech and complex device can be "working" or can be "broken". When it does not live as it was constructed and planned by the Creator, it is not complete, healthy, normal. Among the signs of the human norm are our inner desire to do good to our neighbors, compassion, the ability to sacrifice and work without expecting a reward for it, only in the name of good, for God’s sake. Therefore, it is not surprising that in addition to fasting and prayer, the Church teaches to do alms as a prerequisite for salvation. We know, that it is impossible to save the soul without doing good deeds. You can say dozens of volumes of wonderful words about your wonderful traits, but if you have never given anyone an unfortunate five hryvnias, then all your words = zero.
Is it the prerogative of only the famous and the rich and their social responsibility?
Have you probably seen beauty contests more than once, where models promise to do charity work in the event of their victory? In fact, they are cunning. You don’t have to be rich to do good to others. It is enough to be kind. And you and I need to remember this more often, each time planning our family budget or even sorting through old things in the closet. Will the miser be able to give away even something old, something he has not used for a long time? No, he can’t. The greedy pity even what he does not need. And this is at a time when a sincere soul will take off his last shirt, if it is necessary to others. The ability to empathize and to suffer is a sign only of a healthy, "normal" spiritual personality. Many of us and our contemporaries are not capable of this at all. In principle, they do not understand what we are talking about now.
Should this be done "quietly" or does this case require publicity?
From the point of view of an unbeliever, one should tell everyone in the world about one’s good deeds in order to receive at least some reward from people. In fact, for many people, their kindness to their neighbors is motivated by this. They want to get some "profit" from their good deeds. Of course, not necessarily material. For believers, on the contrary, good deeds are our mystery to God. Only He needs to know what we did. We believe that God will give us a reward if we deserve it. And we also know that twice for one work no one gets paid - either from people or from God. Therefore, Christians hide their good deeds, knowing that they do them not because people praise them, but because it is God’s will.
Svetlana Leontieva, TV presenter, artist:
Why do I support charity? For me it is a part of life, my attitude to the world. Good if you want, which I give in exchange for the good that comes to me. My grandmother Tanya, who lived a very difficult life: buried two young sons during the Holodomor (Andrew - 1 year, Mykolka - 4 years) and mother-in-law, received a funeral for the eldest Ivan (19 years) in 1941, survived three wars (civil, Finnish - grandfather fought, and domestic) and occupation, waited from the front grandfather and eldest daughter, driven to Germany. My grandmother did not lose her sense of humor and kindness. She always said, "Better to give than to ask." And she taught me that! I believe that good will always turn to good. Because most people will automatically respond to evil with evil, and they will still think of kindness and a smile… Maybe someone’s deafness and callousness will tremble and melt away?
Is it the prerogative of only the famous and the rich and their social responsibility?
People are different. They are born different - some red and some blue-eyed; they are brought up differently and live differently. Some have a broad soul, and some are stingy: both for money and for good.
Often the wealthy seem to "pay the ransom" - give money to charity, so as not to decrease. But the essence of man is always visible: most of those who want to spread their charity "for a penny" - people are insincere, unkind, poor at heart. But the Lord gave them life and money. If someone’s life is saved at their expense, let them show off. Or maybe the rescued one is a genius scientist or a musician? And he will make the world more merciful with his work, and there will be fewer poor souls in it !?
Should this be done "quietly" or does this case require publicity?
If people in public give their time, energy, talent - to charity - it makes no sense to hide. You can secretly make a large monetary contribution, and talent and strength - they usually have a public component.
The question for benefactors is: how many things and which ones have you done? Who did you help save? What did you build or rebuild? What did you invest - money or effort? How much time does free work-assistance take in your daily life?
Author Evgenia Motrich
Read also : Pope Francis, Borislav Bereza and Solomiya Vitvitskaya - What is charity?
We continue the column - What is charity? In this section, we talk about charity in general, learn from famous and beloved artists, writers, scientists, public figures and many others, what is this process and why is it for each of us?
This time, the guests of our column were: volunteer - Tasha Shapiro, TV presenter and artist - Svetlana Leontieva, as well as a priest , publicist and missionary - Eugene Zapletnyuk.
Tasha Shapiro, volunteer: Tasha, what does charity mean to you? Why do charity work?
Charity is an integral part of my life. Charity is a combination of the two words "good / create", and it is a voluntary choice of the type, time, place and content of assistance!
Often, we hear - "charitable donations" ... In our country, this cult of "sacrifice" is particularly pronounced, not culture. People "sacrifice" their interests, lives, finances, comfort, reputation, goals for the sake of others, and then regret the irritation that their sacrifice is not appreciated as they would like, and reproach. In my opinion, these are two different concepts in terms of content ... Sacrifice is to tear oneself away from oneself with some strain, to absolve oneself of responsibility, to fulfill one’s sense of duty, law, religion, but without a response in one’s soul: , I will be credited, I will be good to others, etc.
Charity comes from compassion, mercy and love for people! The desire to do good and important, and to receive from it the energy impulse of happiness to transmit the impulse to others! After all, at all times there have been and are people and social problems that need the intervention and help of people who are able to solve these problems. Natural disasters, wars, poverty, environmental catastrophes - this is all that accompanies humanity throughout its existence.
Are you for or against public charity, or should it be everyone’s business?
In the USSR, there was no concept of charity. The very lack of selfish motives inherent in charity was completely beyond the comprehension of the Soviet authorities, so it was suppressed in every possible way.
The union has collapsed, and society still continues to regard charity as something to be kept quiet about. In developed countries, this is the norm and tradition. People are proud of their charitable deeds and do not hide, thus encouraging others to join. That’s why I’m for publicity. Genuine help is always distinguishable from PR! But if a person does not want to advertise, then it is his private business. Charity, as I wrote above, is a voluntary choice of a person and he chooses as he sees fit. There is something that needs to be done quietly, and there is something that needs to be talked about, because silence will not provide the necessary help in time.
Shares, is it the duty of rich people or their voluntary choice?
Charity is not a duty, but a voluntary choice, regardless of wealth! No one owes anyone! After all, the form of expression of charity is not always finance:
it can be the transfer of knowledge and skills, so to speak, "not only to give fish, but also a fishing rod, learning to fish"; the transfer of food, clothing, appliances, property, etc., which a couple needs less or not at all, but so necessary to others; free provision and performance of professional services and works; psychological support; household assistance, etc.
Often such help is more important than material, and each person can prove himself in a good deed, not having financial wealth, but having spiritual and professional wealth. After all, everyone has different criteria for wealth!
Eugene Zapletnyuk, priest, publicist, missionary: What is charity in general and for you personally, what are its manifestations?
A philanthropist is a person who does good. And, in fact, it doesn’t really matter which way you do it: money, time, attention or a kind word. Another thing is important. Everyone, without exception, must remember that charity is a sign of the norm. We often forget that a person, like any high-tech and complex device can be "working" or can be "broken". When it does not live as it was constructed and planned by the Creator, it is not complete, healthy, normal. Among the signs of the human norm are our inner desire to do good to our neighbors, compassion, the ability to sacrifice and work without expecting a reward for it, only in the name of good, for God’s sake. Therefore, it is not surprising that in addition to fasting and prayer, the Church teaches to do alms as a prerequisite for salvation. We know, that it is impossible to save the soul without doing good deeds. You can say dozens of volumes of wonderful words about your wonderful traits, but if you have never given anyone an unfortunate five hryvnias, then all your words = zero.
Is it the prerogative of only the famous and the rich and their social responsibility?
Have you probably seen beauty contests more than once, where models promise to do charity work in the event of their victory? In fact, they are cunning. You don’t have to be rich to do good to others. It is enough to be kind. And you and I need to remember this more often, each time planning our family budget or even sorting through old things in the closet. Will the miser be able to give away even something old, something he has not used for a long time? No, he can’t. The greedy pity even what he does not need. And this is at a time when a sincere soul will take off his last shirt, if it is necessary to others. The ability to empathize and to suffer is a sign only of a healthy, "normal" spiritual personality. Many of us and our contemporaries are not capable of this at all. In principle, they do not understand what we are talking about now.
Should this be done "quietly" or does this case require publicity?
From the point of view of an unbeliever, one should tell everyone in the world about one’s good deeds in order to receive at least some reward from people. In fact, for many people, their kindness to their neighbors is motivated by this. They want to get some "profit" from their good deeds. Of course, not necessarily material. For believers, on the contrary, good deeds are our mystery to God. Only He needs to know what we did. We believe that God will give us a reward if we deserve it. And we also know that twice for one work no one gets paid - either from people or from God. Therefore, Christians hide their good deeds, knowing that they do them not because people praise them, but because it is God’s will.
Svetlana Leontieva, TV presenter, artist: Why do I support charity? For me it is a part of life, my attitude to the world. Good if you want, which I give in exchange for the good that comes to me. My grandmother Tanya, who lived a very difficult life: buried two young sons during the Holodomor (Andrew - 1 year, Mykolka - 4 years) and mother-in-law, received a funeral for the eldest Ivan (19 years) in 1941, survived three wars (civil, Finnish - grandfather fought, and domestic) and occupation, waited from the front grandfather and eldest daughter, driven to Germany. My grandmother did not lose her sense of humor and kindness. She always said, "Better to give than to ask." And she taught me that! I believe that good will always turn to good. Because most people will automatically respond to evil with evil, and they will still think of kindness and a smile… Maybe someone’s deafness and callousness will tremble and melt away?
Is it the prerogative of only the famous and the rich and their social responsibility?
People are different. They are born different - some red and some blue-eyed; they are brought up differently and live differently. Some have a broad soul, and some are stingy: both for money and for good.
Often the wealthy seem to "pay the ransom" - give money to charity, so as not to decrease. But the essence of man is always visible: most of those who want to spread their charity "for a penny" - people are insincere, unkind, poor at heart. But the Lord gave them life and money. If someone’s life is saved at their expense, let them show off. Or maybe the rescued one is a genius scientist or a musician? And he will make the world more merciful with his work, and there will be fewer poor souls in it !?
Should this be done "quietly" or does this case require publicity?
If people in public give their time, energy, talent - to charity - it makes no sense to hide. You can secretly make a large monetary contribution, and talent and strength - they usually have a public component.
The question for benefactors is: how many things and which ones have you done? Who did you help save? What did you build or rebuild? What did you invest - money or effort? How much time does free work-assistance take in your daily life?
Author Evgenia Motrich
Read also : Pope Francis, Borislav Bereza and Solomiya Vitvitskaya - What is charity?