Charity by Sir Joseph Boehm (Photo credit: mira66)
I was searching for a quote on charity and how it relates to kindness, when I happened upon this:
“Charity degrades those who receive it and hardens those who dispense it.” ~ George Sand
My first thought was “this is not what I was looking for”; after staring at it on my screen, it might be exactly what I am looking for. This statement forces me to look at the hard question of what I am really looking to do with “charity”. Am I expecting something from the receiver in return for my charitable act? Am I demanding (explicitly or implicitly) some kind of servitude? Am I serving someone purely from the goodness of my heart and acting from the perspective of my faith? And finally, can I continue to be charitable when I make assumptions of the circumstances of a person’s need?
What strikes you when you read this quote? I know I am not the same after reading it. What do you think?
