philonthrophy

This is a great topic! Somewhere in the Bible, it says not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. Anyone who's followed that advice knows the blessing one gets from doing so. I remember reading in the news a few months ago about a company that gave $25,000 to a worthy cause. Nice, isn't it? Well, they spent something like 3 times that, promoting their good deed. That really isn't giving at all. I think there's another element to this at the personal level. No one naturally wants to be in need. No one naturally wants to be in bad circumstances. Publicizing the act of giving, whether it's financial or otherwise, in a way robs the person you're helping of some of their dignity. With all that considered, there can be a fine line between giving for the glory, and drawing attention to a worthy cause by giving publically. In other words, I think there's a difference between saying "My company gave $1,000,000 to the Whatnot Preservation Society" and "Our organization feels deeply about Whatnots, and we encourage you to support them, as we do, by giving to the Whatnot Preservation Society." Again it's a great topic, and you've hit the nail on the head when you talk about passion. Passion is the vehicle that delivers help to those who need it. For those who have experienced the passion of giving, of helping, without regard to reward: don't you agree that having that passion is the greatest reward of all?