Have you read Matthew 25:31-46 recently? It’s the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which Jesus tells his followers that our eternal future is determined on the basis of our treatment of others. Read in particular verses 34-36
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
In verses 41-46, Jesus goes further with his analogy:
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”
They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”
He will reply, ”I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
During the coming year, I plan to take these words more seriously. In the days which remain in 2009, I plan to look at opportunities to use my time, talent, and treasure more effectively. In 2010, I plan to follow up on some of the opportunities I have to “feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit those ill or in prison”.
If you’re like me, though, you may find it difficult to sift through the pleas for donations and the organizations requesting volunteers. Here are some possibilities you may wish to consider.
- Would you like to become an advocate for abused or neglected children? Click here.
- Another way to help kids is to sponsor a child through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.
- Or consider being a Big Brother / Big Sister.
- You’ve heard of Habitat for Humanity. Volunteer to help a needy family build a home. Click here.
- To do a quick search for volunteer opportunities in your zip code, click here.
- Want to know more about the charities you’re considering? Click here.
- Here’s a fun concept - Help Others by “paying it forward”.
- To learn how to make rosaries to send to those serving in the military, click here.
- One way to “visit those in prison” – check this site to learn how to send Christian literature to Catholic inmates.
- Here’s something easy – click the link on this site daily to feed the hungry.
- Another easy one. Click here to provide free mammograms to women in need.
How do you share your "time, talent, and treasure"? Can you offer other suggestions? Will you join with me in making a resolution to find more opportunities to “feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit those ill or in prison”?
I purchase $5.00 Subway cards to give to homeless. The cards are only good for purchases in the Subway, and the person does not get any change back. The balance after purchase remains on the card. That way, the person can't buy a drink for a dollar, and get four dollars in cash for change . . . and then spend it on cigarettes, or drugs, or whatever. I am sure there are other food places that sell similar type cards.
ReplyDeleteThat's a GREAT idea, Rich - thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteVolunteering to work a thrift store or food pantry is also time well spent. This was a grand post! Cathy
ReplyDeleteMichaela and I make up food baskets for the local food pantry, this helps her learn about giving. She also loves going to the grocery store and picking out food for the "cans for kids campaign". Rich's idea was great, I worry about handing money to people, but I admit that I have done it. With a gift certificate I wouldn't have to worry about drugs or alcohol.
ReplyDeleteCheck out www.GoodSearch.com It is a Yahoo search engine that permits you to make a donation to the charity of your choice for every search you make. It also includes GoodShop -- so if you want to buy something online, you can search through GoodShop first. You get a discount up to 30 percent on everything you buy. The vendors include such biggies as Lands End, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walgreens, Williams Sonoma, Sears, Petsmart, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe have used this as our exclusive search engine for a couple years now and the donations really add up (in our case, to the local chapter of St. Vincent De Paul).
We also use a similar system to the other reader: we each carry bus passes and gift cards to local merchants ($5 to $10) that a homeless person could visit for a cup of coffee, a hot meal, a pair of gloves, whatever it may be. We have distributed quite a few over the years, at church, outside restaurants, in grocery parking lots--- all sorts of places. And then we simply mention those individuals in our prayers at the evening meal.