As Sounding Brass by Jennings Pinkerman
Paul writes: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:1-7).
Every year around the holidays you see a familiar sight outside of most stores. Someone stands next to a red Salvation Army bucket and rings a bell, asking shoppers to please consider donating to the less fortunate. Most people respond by giving a little something if they can.
But it always makes me wonder: Why is it that the holiday season seems to be the only fashionable time of the year to give to the needy? What about the rest of the year? I also wonder: When people put their money in that famous red bucket, do they think about who will get that money?
What motivates their actions? As Christians, we know that God is very much interested in the things we do but oftentimes is much more interested in why.
As the above verse illustrates, even if our actions are noble and outwardly seem to be upright, without charity (or love, as many other translations use) then, they are meaningless. Or as the King James Version says, “like sounding brass.”
While a brass instrument might sound beautiful without the proper context, it is just so much noise.
So then how do we as Christians combat this kind of empty giving? How do we make sure that we have the proper motivation?
When I was struggling through one of the roughest patches of my life, a very dear friend of mine did something for me that I would never forget. I had just been let go from a very prosperous job at a warehouse for a major retailer.
At the same time my roommate moved out with no notice and I was left with my share of the bills and his as well. One dismal gray afternoon, I was sitting in my apartment, wondering what I was going to do about my situation.
There was no food left in the house, and I hadn’t had a decent meal in about a week. Just then there was a knock at the door. It was my friend Danni. Danni knew that I was going through a rough patch, and had brought me some lunch from a local restaurant.
I thanked her profusely, and proceeded to wolf down the meal she had brought. She asked me when the last time I had eaten was, and, after evading the question a couple of times, I confessed that it had been a while.
Danni smiled and said, “Why don’t you and I take a drive somewhere.” I figured I could use some distraction from my present situation, so I heartily agreed. We got in her vehicle and she took me to the local grocery store. She told me she needed to pick up a few things and asked if I would mind going in with her.
When we got inside, she began filling up her cart with items. Occasionally she would ask me if something looked good, and I would tell her that it all looked good to me.
To make a long story short, she had no intention of getting anything for herself and instead spent over a $100 on groceries to stock my fridge until things turned around for me. I felt like a death row inmate who had been granted a governor’s pardon! This action, to me, personifies the kind of selfless giving that we should be practicing not just year round but life long.
In my estimation, Danni’s actions had the proper motivation. She gave without expecting anything in return. She gave knowing there was a definite need, and she gave without bragging about it, and without any self-righteous posing.
In Matthew we read, “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4).
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