Charity has commonly been praised as the greatest of all virtues, because of the immense capacity it has for improving the lives of others. In a material world, however, where greed rules the hearts of men, need has become a disparaging condition that is both shameful and embarrassing to the needy, as well as stigmatized and ridiculed by many of affluent means. It is never pleasant to lack, but it is more so unpleasant to lack and be scorned by others because of need. Need is a condition that will always exist among people. By nature, the world with its extremes of weather, famines, and disasters creates unavoidable need among men. Such unavoidable needs are intensified and exacerbated by the actions of men who create inequality and pursue divisive interests of selfishness and exclusion. As long as mankind exists on Earth, there will always be a need for selfless charity: the greatest of all virtues.

Misconceptions
Charity has been misconstrued and denigrated by many as merely a reason for the rich to donate money begrudgingly to the poor. The word charity has erroneously adopted a negative connotation in such minds that symbolizes the redistribution of money from those who “rightfully earn it” to those who for whatever reason, “don’t seem to deserve it.” Such calculative and misguided notions of charity perpetuate the deplorable concept that impoverishment is acceptable among mankind, and also entrenches the falsehood that charity is solely a financial matter, rather than one that addresses the ever present condition of a variety of human needs. Of a certainty money is a human need in a society that demands it as payment for even the most basic of necessities, but not every human need is satisfied by money. From time to time we all find ourselves in need of things we lack and for which charity provides the only possible fulfillment. How petty we can be to think of charity only for its financial implications when we are so commonly in need of friendship and love, peace and joy, encouragement and support, as well as comfort and consolation. All of these are human needs that we commonly lack in life, and that are frequently satisfied through acts of charity.

A Matter of the Heart
Charity is more than a societal burden, and of more value than anything that can be financially quantified. Charity is a matter of the heart that urges mankind to give, not because of guilt, but as a result of compassion and love. It is charity that allows us to see needs beyond those of our own, and to seek their resolution for others with the same intensity and determination that we would apply to our own concerns. In charity there is no need for keeping score or counting deeds done for others, because the actions of charity are not performed with the expectation of being repaid or returned. Charity is the act of giving freely wherever a human need exists, without expectation of reward or recognition. Charity fills the voids that each of us have in life, not for the potential of future personal gain, but because of caring hearts that prompt us to do the right thing.

Competition
Our world is a place that has been long predominated by competition and the continual drive to “vanquish our foes.” Unfortunately, however, we have become so obsessed with competition and the desire to be better than others, that we have failed to effectively distinguish our allies from our enemies, and have turned life into a competition against nearly everyone…often including our families and friends. Our obsession with competition turns everyday living into a perpetual battleground where interactions of every kind are a fight to the last man standing. What is it that intrigues us with such passion and resolve to be better than others, or to have while they lack? Why is it that we are so committed to the value of competition that we inflict it upon others so fully and freely that we fail to draw lines between that which is healthy competition and that which is abusive domination. What one may consider to be fair competition, ceases to be so when it causes the suffering of another. It is not necessary or even desirable to challenge everyone so fully that we destroy their self-confidence and desire to strive for success.

Lifting Others Higher
The world has become too accepting of the vast and inappropriate use of competition, while demeaning the value and need for charity. What are we in our hearts when domination and competition infiltrate our cores? Must we always be better than everyone else? Is there nothing of value in others that is worth promoting and encouraging in order to help them to become uniquely great in some way? How much higher can we climb together by lifting one another than we can by knocking each other down? The true glory of standing on top is the ability to lift others higher. Charity is what we have when we realize that the greatest advantages of higher ground are those we share with others.

There will always be a need to share charity with others. It is important to become the best we can be, but we should always remember that the greatest competition we will ever have is that which exists within ourselves. Charity is truly the greatest of all virtues and we will only be our best when it is found in abundance in our hearts. We must overcome the rogue tendency of the world that glorifies competition to the point of human suffering, and instead, strive to alleviate the suffering of others by helping them in any way we can. True charity is far more than that which we give out of duty…it is that which we give out of compassion and love. Let us strive to grow in touch with our hearts, giving to others, not because we must, but because we can. May we take the hands of those who are struggling in the climb of life, to lift them to higher ground whenever we are able. We are greater together with charity than we will ever be alone. It is only through love and compassion—through the integral components of charity—that we will ever achieve the greatness for which we were born in this life.    

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