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What have you given lately?

Richard Mulcahy

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What have you given lately?

Deuteronomy 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.”

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 815 million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world, or 10.7%, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2016.

Get pregnant in the developing world, and your chances of dying or being disabled as a result are one in four.
If your child survives the pregnancy and labour, then he or she still has a one-in-10 chance of dying by the age of five.

Survive all this and your child's chances of going on to join the world's army of child labourers are around one in 10 in Asia and one in four in Africa.

Estimates of homelessness in the United States range from fewer than 600,000 to more than 1.5 million people.
150 million people in the world are homeless or 2% of the world population.

Right this very second your brothers and sisters are suffering. How can we pray for prosperity when we have everything we need and our fellow man suffers? What would Jesus think if we bought that shiny new watch instead of giving the money to a homeless man. How can we enjoy a new leather sofa whilst people in our neighbourhood are sleeping rough?

A shocking 3 in 4 people who are blind worldwide don't need to be. You can change that. Vulnerable people at risk of blindness in the world’s poorest places need you. Just by donating monthly you could literally be preventing blindness!

As Christians we need to do more and give more. There's plenty of charities out there in this dark, fallen world. Go and sign up for monthly subscriptions. Put faith into action. Just ask yourself this one question: WWJD? What would Jesus do?

Help prevent and alleviate hunger. Protect children from the horrors of abuse. Prevent cruelty to animals. Prevent people from becoming blind. And the list goes on and on... so whatever charities you choose, remember, you will be storing up gifts for yourself in heaven and you will feel better as a human being.

Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
 

Pavel Mosko

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Well on this exact problem I haven't given anything. I have given more my fair share on charity causes but more for people and things I know in my area, neighborhood etc.


I guess on this though I have to point out that this is often not just about people not having food etc. Quite often there is a human element to this. Such as governments embezzling funds, or stealing charity provisions to fund their armies, or even deliberately starving certain groups they dislike etc. when it comes to nations etc. And at the family level, quite often this comes from drug abuse, alcoholism, gambling addiction etc. basically parents spend their money on their favorite addiction rather than feeding their family.


Anyway I say this, because the common reaction is "lets throw more money at the problem" and if the problem comes from humans all you are doing is giving them more money to the war lords, drug lords, and corrupt politicians, and addicts feeding their habit.
 
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public hermit

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I like GiveDirectly. The money goes straight to the person in need. For $30 a month you can give someone in an underdeveloped country what amounts to a monthly income. GD is keeping close records of how the program is working. I can't think of another outreach where your giving goes directly to the person.

Basic Income Kenya Study | GiveDirectly
 
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Richard Mulcahy

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I know of the challenges some charities face in the form of corruption. Where intended funds do not reach the people in need. But I think we should not disregard charity on the basis of a few rotten apples.
There are many charities out there making a huge difference to those most in need.
 
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Richard Mulcahy

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A great way to circumvent the evil corruption Pavel mentioned.
 
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returntosender

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You need to be careful giving to those as I have googled them and many are scams. There is one for the Jews that is a huge fraud. Be careful.
 
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Rene Loup

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First of all, it is none of anyone's business.

~Matthew 6:1-4 (ICB)

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 6 - King James Version
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Second, there are click-to-donate websites. All you do is click on a button which will lead you to a page full of advertisements. Those advertisements pay for the causes they support, so you do not have to pay any money at all. Here is a good start:

Click to Donate FREE! Make free donations to 70 Charities. Nonprofit & volunteer links!

Third, ALWAYS do research before making donations, especially on the internet.[1][2] Be sure to report scams and fraud to the local authorities (Exodus 20:15-17, 1 Peter 2:11-25, Romans 13:1-7).[3][4]
  1. GoFraudMe | GoFundMe Fraud, Scams, Crowdfunding Ethics, GoFundMe News
  2. Fraud & Scams Archives | Snopes.com
  3. On the Internet | Federal Bureau of Investigation
  4. How to report fraud or abuse - Canada.ca
 
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Richard Mulcahy

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We're not supposed to brag or talk on what we've done for others. See what you have started Richard You've made it about themselves, tsk tsk tsk.

The intention is not to brag but highlight the importance of giving to the poor. I'm sure no one is bragging just offering support in this area of need.
It is God's giving through all of us. We would never boast it was us and not Him, Amen.
 
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Rene Loup

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If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will follow His commands...

~John 14:15-31 (ICB)

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...One of the ways of doing so is caring for the most vulnerable members of society, whom are also His children...

28 Now, in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek. There is no difference between slaves and free men. There is no difference between male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.
~Galatians 3:28 (ICB)

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...You do not have to give very much, if anything at all. Just contribute what you possibly can for the glory of God, out of your own free will...

~2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (ICB)

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~Luke 21:1-4 (ICB)

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~Mark 12:41-44 (ICB)

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Rene Loup

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...How one treats the vulnerable members of society reveals true character. Do you truly love God enough to care for them, as He commanded?

~Matthew 7:15-19 (ICB)

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~Galatians 5:16-26 (ICB)

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...Because this is what will happen to hypocritical and/or false Christians...

~Matthew 25:31-46 (ICB)

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...Because refusing to do so reveals either a lack of faith in the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, or even selfish ambition...

~James 2:14-26 (ICB)

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~Philippians 2:1-11 (ICB)

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...Choose for yourselves this day whom you shall serve: God or Mammon.

~Joshua 24:15 (ICB)

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~Matthew 6:19-24 (ICB)

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~Luke 16:1-15 (ICB)

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Richard Mulcahy

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Yes, it's no one's business. Again, this thread was created with the intention of drawing attention to the importance of helping those in need.
I had wrestled with the idea of what if this is seen as boasting but carefully worded the thread so as not to boast.
The world clearly has its priorities all wrong as I'm sure you will agree I.t.o hunger, etc. and many people read these threads and might decide to give or give more?
It's all God's giving through us, Amen...
 
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The intention is not to brag but highlight the importance of giving to the poor. I'm sure no one is bragging just offering support in this area of need.
It is God's giving through all of us. We would never boast it was us and not Him, Amen.
I know your intentions are good but it is a little condemning and causes people to defend their giving.
Its Gods not ours to quicken the spirit of giving to each person privately or publicly in an non obligated way. JMO, God bless!
 
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Richard Mulcahy

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I know your intentions are good but it is a little condemning and causes people to defend their giving.
Its Gods not ours to quicken the spirit of giving to each person privately or publicly in an non obligated way. JMO, God bless!

I see. I understand your point.
Yes, definitely only good intention.
God bless you too...
 
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VERY USEFUL LIST, THANKS!
 
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Rene Loup

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I do understand what you are doing with this topic, and I am in full agreement with you.

My apologies for any abrasiveness on my part. I just wanted to add that piece of Scripture because I have made this same mistake countless times. I also have concerns for many people today doing good works for the sake of social media validation. If anything, I'd say this Bible passage is more relevant today than it ever has been (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Matthew 24:35). It is simply showing off and even reveals selfish ambition when it ends with the phrase, "Like, Comment, and Subscribe!" (Galatians 5:19-21, Philippians 2:1-11, 2 Timothy 3:1-9)[1][2][3][4][5]

We are all flawed human beings who are predisposed towards selfishness. God knows our hearts. We are to please God, not man (Galatians 1:10, Luke 16:1-15, Romans 3:9-20).
  1. [Millennials’ Voices] Social Media, Activism, and a Generation of Narcissists
  2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...rcissism-and-social-media-should-we-be-afraid
  3. How to get narcissists to give money to charity
  4. #TrashTag Challenge Goes Viral As People Share Before/After Photos Of Their Cleanup
  5. Narcissism and social networking
 
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