The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-10-20
The Rarity Of
Christian Charity
The Greatest Of all Blessings is
charity-the Kind Deed,
the Friendly Grasp.
Paper Read Before the cnautouquo Circle.

l
Charity is that species of help
which one human being tenders to
another, willingly and gladly, with
out the hope or even the thought of
return and without the smallest
thought of the worthiness or un-
worthiness of the recipient.
The widows mite was worth more
in the eyes of the Master than the
rich gifts of the Pharisees and the
ointment poured over the feet of |
Jesus stands out as model for the
ages because Of the love that was
poured out with the gift. How
clearly does the rebuke of Jesus to
his disciples show the difference in
his mind between loving gift and
t b so-called organized charity of
today?
Organized charity is an insult to
Christian intelligence. If poor
helpless woman, driven to the aw-
full despair by seeing before her
daily her slowly starving children
finally nerves herself and presents
herself before the lordly official who
is usually in charge of the so-called
Associated Charities" and with her
heart sinking with mingled dread
and shame, eager for help for her
children, but longing more for a
kind or loving word !; is she taken
by the hand and told to go home in
peace-that all will be made well ?
mo! AS poor old Hood once sang
| Alas! for the rarity
/ OF Christian charity
| Under the SUM-"
/ The only thought in the mind Of
the official is: "Ah, here's another
CRATER trying to work me-" Cues
ton after question and most of them
of an insulting personal character
are fred at the poor, helpless, trem-
bling wretch, who finally in utter
despair drags herself back home
again only to find out next day that
| the agents of the society have poi
o soned the VII de neighborhood
3 against her by their inquiries about
p her responsibility. Bitter indeed
~ must the bread be that is eaten al
such price and yet that is the price
% the poor must pay for the very
- scant assistance that is rendered
them by the so-called Organized
Charities.
Is that the Christ ideal? Ia tina
II what He meant when He said, In
a somuch as We do for the least O.
e these, my brethren, SO do We untt
k Me?" Is it charity at all? 1t i
n not. The payment of loss of self
respect and sometimes even of los
of faith in the realty and goodnes
of God, is made for the gift and tn
IS giver is cursed instead of blessed b.
" both God and the unhappy recipient
10 Charity and love go hand in hant
< and charity without love is lik
.. bread without leaven and bring
with it no blessing.
Charity does not necessarily con
sist in the giving of material assis
: lance. Very often smile, or
kind word is the truest charity. L
take fallen woman or an ex-con
vict by the hand and bid then
assurance that there is still corn i
Egypt is at times far more valuabl
is and far more valued gift than tn
at cold offer of some material assistanc
a. and the truest test of charity is tia
l
the recipient shall feel no sham
while the giver realizes to the flu
that it is more blessed to- Civ
than to receive"
Communities as a whole have du
ties to perform towards their weake
as members and in an everincreaSln
number, are performing it vel
Public schools, public hospital
public baths and public librarie
are all means by which commun
ty recognizes that it's weaker {
poorer members should share in j
in prosperity; but this, in its ultima'
analysis, is not charity, though it