Carry your brother...

How many of us have done some kind of charity in life? I can picture many nods :) You may think that proper charity is helping the needy, donating to a temple/church, praying for others, giving away goods to the less fortunate etc. It sure is charity, yes 'cos I have engaged in some of that kind too. But did you know that real charity begins at home? You may donate a $1000 to the Cancer Society but you haven't gained anything by that deed if you can't spend $10 on your poor brother at home without feeling stingy about it.

You may wonder why I'm talking about this straight after my NZ trip. Well I observed a very interesting facet of charity while I was over there. There's this relative of mine living there. While everyone in his family is well-off, he's the only one who hasn't got a Porche or a 2-storey house. He's just a regular working class man. He lost his young wife last year to Cancer and he has 3 young daughters to take care of. He's trying hard to make ends meet on a daily basis and right now he's in a bit of trouble with his job too. But what I realised is that no one wanted to know his problems. No one cared what happened to him and no one was willing to give him a $1. His sisters and brothers are very rich and very much settled. They are not very bad people either. Just that they can't be bothered about his problems and they didn't want him around, 'cos he didnt fit in with their society. They mock him and make fun of his sad state. He was once a very well-off person and a very generous one too - only recently he had to face a series of misfortunes in life. Now his siblings don't even want to know him 'cos he hasn't got much to offer in terms of riches. I thought that was very selfish and very egoistic of them. But the funny thing is that some of these people visit the temples often and donate so much money to the poor and the helpless. Why?? What satisfaction do they get from that? If they can't help their brother who is in trouble, what other higher deed can they ever do?

Charity begins at home and if you can't love your brother, then don't try so hard to love some stranger - 'cos it sure is planned and artificial charity then. Charity must ignite with pure love in your heart and in your home. And if you can't help your own blood, how can you help someone else? Why is it that we often find it hard to help our own blood? I'm not like them...I can assure you on that 'cos I do whatever I can to help my family first and never expect anything in return...but it was pretty heart-breaking to watch this person's family doing charity to strangers when he was falling apart. I guess his siblings have so much to learn even though they are married with kids. We can be matured in age, marital status and our posessions but that's material maturity...spiritual maturity doesn't come with a price tag people, so you can't buy it...tap into your heart and see if you can grow it naturally. Hopefully you wouldnt' have to sit at a grave some day and cry for all the things you didnt do to help him/her...'cos that would be the hardest for you to bear. You may be the highest donor of charity in the world, but you will never feel the same Love that God has for us, unless you start Loving at home.

So what are your thoughts on Charity? Are you doing your best to help your family before the Red Cross? And remember, he cant be too heavy, he's your brother...