Capt. James H. Callahan Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I'm always torn on this one. Much of what my wife and I do we prefer to keep it between us and God. On one hand, we don't want to blow our own horn and say Yay for Me! Look what I did! On the other hand, if you keep secret what God did through you, you fail to give Him the glory of what He did through you his servant. JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I think His glory will be manifest in any event. All depends. Church and purely charitable giving I think it should be kept anonymous, except it can't entirely be when one is meeting pledges, etc. But those are typically held confidential except from the necessary office holder. Contributions to things like the symphony, the local musical theater, the old fraternity, and such, I don't mind having it listed with the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Anonymous for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I apparently misunderstood your question. The other day I was walking the dog and I saw water bubbling up out of the front yard at this house. I went up and rang the doorbell to tell him that they had a leak in their water line. That's something that's nice to know - the city charges you for that stuff. I consider that an act of kindness. Has nothing to do with God or church or charity or giving. Neighbor's dog got out, and I put a leash on him and took him home. Again, I consider that an act of kindness, and again it has nothing to do with God or charity or the church. Some 50 or so years ago I was hiking with the Boy scouts, and this one boy's pack strap had broke. He was trying to reattach it while walking along. Not working out real well. I came up behind him and lifted the weight of the pack off of him and held it, so he could use both hands to reattach the strap, as we kept going along with the rest of hikers. I could have just watched him. I could have laughed. Instead I helped. I consider that an act of kindness, and it also had nothing to do with religion or charity. So exactly what do you mean by an act of kindness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 40 minutes ago, Alpo said: I apparently misunderstood your question. The other day I was walking the dog and I saw water bubbling up out of the front yard at this house. I went up and rang the doorbell to tell him that they had a leak in their water line. That's something that's nice to know - the city charges you for that stuff. I consider that an act of kindness. Has nothing to do with God or church or charity or giving. Neighbor's dog got out, and I put a leash on him and took him home. Again, I consider that an act of kindness, and again it has nothing to do with God or charity or the church. Some 50 or so years ago I was hiking with the Boy scouts, and this one boy's pack strap had broke. He was trying to reattach it while walking along. Not working out real well. I came up behind him and lifted the weight of the pack off of him and held it, so he could use both hands to reattach the strap, as we kept going along with the rest of hikers. I could have just watched him. I could have laughed. Instead I helped. I consider that an act of kindness, and it also had nothing to do with religion or charity. So exactly what do you mean by an act of kindness? Something you take money out of your pocket and/or give of your time. I guess I was a bit ambiguous. Not a real easy thing to define. I guess I would say above and beyond the every day. So theoretically speaking, you leave church downtown and see the increasing homeless downtown. You go and spend your own money and stock up at the grocery store, go down to the public library and hand out your stores, pray over 12-15 people, and sit a while and LISTEN. And not one of them asks you for money. Theoretically speaking. It could happen. JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 36 minutes ago, Alpo said: I apparently misunderstood your question. The other day I was walking the dog and I saw water bubbling up out of the front yard at this house. I went up and rang the doorbell to tell him that they had a leak in their water line. That's something that's nice to know - the city charges you for that stuff. I consider that an act of kindness. Has nothing to do with God or church or charity or giving. Neighbor's dog got out, and I put a leash on him and took him home. Again, I consider that an act of kindness, and again it has nothing to do with God or charity or the church. Some 50 or so years ago I was hiking with the Boy scouts, and this one boy's pack strap had broke. He was trying to reattach it while walking along. Not working out real well. I came up behind him and lifted the weight of the pack off of him and held it, so he could use both hands to reattach the strap, as we kept going along with the rest of hikers. I could have just watched him. I could have laughed. Instead I helped. I consider that an act of kindness, and it also had nothing to do with religion or charity. So exactly what do you mean by an act of kindness? No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted. You never know how far the ripples may travel. JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Acts of kindness are acts of charity. "Charity" from Greek "caritas" meaning love. And there's a difference between something coming from God, and something coming from "religion". At least I think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Anonymously Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Always anonymous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Anonymous..... sort of. I've let 2 of our church leaders know that if something were to come up which requires $$$, like a family hit with a hardship, childrens program, etc...... please let me know because I'm always good for a few 000 bucks. BUT, I really don't want the recepient to know that I gave nor how much I gave. I prefer that to remain anonymous. And there are a few things I've done within SASS for individual members without asking for any $$$ gratuity, and actually ask the recipient to just keep the 'act of kindness' to themselves. I felt honored that their trust and confidence in me to help them made me feel good. That was reward enough. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 5 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said: Acts of kindness are acts of charity. "Charity" from Greek "caritas" meaning love. And there's a difference between something coming from God, and something coming from "religion". At least I think so. In Kairos and Emmaus we call it agape. A gift from God thru his people, freely given with no expectation of an earthly return. JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 9 minutes ago, Capt. James H. Callahan said: In Kairos and Emmaus we call it agape. A gift from God thru his people, freely given with no expectation of an earthly return. JHC True, agape is the Greek word; caritas is Latin for agape (I had it wrong above) and, of course, 'charity' is the English word for caritas. Paul uses agape for love in the famous passages. Latin had this as caritas. Early English translations, as in the KJV translated this as charity: "faith, hope, and charity, these three" Gradually the term in ordinary English became more one of alms and such giving to the poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 A bit of both. In general, anonymous. Sometimes I'll blow my own horn to make a point in a discussion. Especially if to illustrate that "charity" doesn't just mean giving money or food. As Alpo points out above, charity can be a small act like telling someone they have a broken pipe. I have to ponder his helping a fellow Scout. I see that as helping your team as a whole. Is that charity? Sometimes it can be something as simple as a kind word to someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 16 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said: I have to ponder his helping a fellow Scout. Actually he was not in my troop. Matter of fact, I knew him from school, and did not particularly like him. Garland Crabtree. Bunny Patrol. Don't remember what troop he was - this was a camporee and there was a bunch of different troops - but I remember he was in the bunny patrol. Their patrol patch was a Playboy bunny silhouette. Hard to forget that one. Anyway. Didn't particularly like him, but he needed some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 22 minutes ago, Alpo said: Actually he was not in my troop. Matter of fact, I knew him from school, and did not particularly like him. Even so, he was a fellow Scout and, unless I'm missing something, you were on the same hike. By my way of thinking that makes you teammates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Kris Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I am inspired by other's acts so I appreciate having them shared. On the occasions I share, I hope I do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I may tell my sons but that’s it unless my friends are talking about things they did. Then I may bring up something nice I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible. I am getting sick of the "random acts of kindness" posts that are widely circulating on social media. To me they seem to be scripted and have a fake feeling about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 18 hours ago, Capt. James H. Callahan said: On the other hand, if you keep secret what God did through you, you fail to give Him the glory of what He did through you his servant. The acts of kindness which helped bring me closer to my fellow Human and to the Creator have been those performed by fellow Humans who didn't express any faith-based overtones. They simply showed kindness when I needed kindness, then went on their way. That's the model I tend to follow. Show kindness when it's needed, them move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 4:43 PM, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said: Acts of kindness are acts of charity. "Charity" from Greek "caritas" meaning love. And there's a difference between something coming from God, and something coming from "religion". At least I think so. I would agree in many cases, but not all. Various denominations do many great things all over the world. Atheists are not known for building schools and hospitals. "Religion"? Maybe. JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 "..........Anonymously,,,,,,,,,,,,,,," we dont look for any acknowledgement , what little we have to give is directed where we feel it does the most good , everyone has their personal things that they want to promote , if you dont , there are worthy causes on TV every day , as stated what limited ability we have we put where we agree is most beneficial , everyone needs to find their own way - their own causes/needs , i applaud any and all that do good , the bottom line is NO - we dont make it known here in my household - we wont announce if we win the lottery either , i leave all that to others and wish them well , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.