GENUINE CHARITY
There is a tendency today to use charity in a way that robs it of its beauty
and leaves only a cold and inanimate word.
Many times an organization will be moved to perform an act of charity only to
gain publicity and the material benefits which naturally follow such publicity.
Many organizations "sell" something in order that they may obtain
money which in turn they will distribute to various charities. These acts may be
commendable but they do not carry the true spirit of charity.
The lesson of charity as taught in the first degree is perhaps the most
important in all Masonry. If we teach the candidate Masonic Charity we go a long
way toward making a Mason.
If you were to look for the secret in man's climb from the mud of ignorance
to his place as a spiritual being, you would find it in the Ideal of Charity.
When a man became conscious of his obligation to others and thus found joy in
sharing with others- when man learned that he could impart something of value to
others in time of joy and in time of sorrow- when man saw in others his own
reflected hopes, ambitions and aspirations, he became One with God.
When you consider the deductions from your income tax for the amounts you
gave to various organized charities, there is little of self included. You gave
because you were expected to share in an impersonal appeal. This, too, may be
commendable.
But in giving of self, you follow the lesson of Masonic Charity.
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