Charity is not optional

CHARITY is, of course, a necessity for us. It is what makes us who and what we are in our fullness. It is the essence of our humanity, since we are the image and likeness of God, and God is love, “Deus caritas est.”

In fact, Christ commanded us to be charitable. When asked what the greatest commandment was, he simply said, to love God with all our might and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Charity is not something optional for us, to be lived only from time to time, depending on favorable circumstances. We have to live it all the time and to extend it to all, friend or foe, at home and in the fields and offices, in schools and in sports, in business and in politics.

Especially politics, since that is where we usually find ourselves to leave charity behind. In the aftermath of the calamities we just had, for example, rabidly partisan politics rears its ugly head, and charity is simply shredded to pieces.

It’s true that we unavoidably have different views and opinions about issues dear to our life as a nation. But these variety and differences are good, since they would only enrich our appreciation of things.

Yet it does not mean that to push our particular position, we have to abandon charity. It’s precisely in this kind of situation when we have to be most charitable, and when living it, in spite of its inconveniences, becomes more meritorious to us.

Sad to say, this fanatical partisan politics is what we are seeing these days, especially in the social networks. All kinds of insults, bashing, mudslinging, ad hominems are thrown around. All kinds of fallacies, even those that are so obvious that the commonest of common sense could effortlessly detect, are presented.

Mere opinions are now presented as dogmas, one’s favored politician is pictured as a true saint incapable of committing any mistake while his hated politician is the devil incarnate himself, simply incapable of doing anything good.

The canine devotion on the one hand and the raging hatred on the other can be so overwhelming and blinding that they are extended to families, allies and supporters of the politicians. Distinctions are forgotten and the generalizations become dominant. There’s flattery on the one hand, and carpet bombing on the other.

In discussing issues, many times the division between what is essential and what is incidental is all but forgotten. The conscious effort to relate issues to the common good is neglected. What rules is one’s personal interest or advantage, which at best only has a relative and supporting value.

And we are not talking about uneducated and illiterate men who are doing this. We are talking about professionals, with brilliant bio-data and all that, who are falling into this kind of madness. It makes us wonder what kind of education they have been receiving.

It is clear that we have a big crisis insofar as charity is concerned. And since charity is the mother of all the virtues and the perfection of our humanity, any crisis directly involving it is a crisis of the first magnitude.

And the simple reason for this sad phenomenon is because God is not at all taken seriously in politics. In this field of human affairs, God is often considered as irrelevant, a persona non grata, unwelcome.

Many consider Christ’s teachings and even the whole gamut of faith as not having any relation to politics. Politics is regarded as no-man’s land, where everyone is absolutely free to do anything according to his own terms. With such mindset, politics becomes exempt to the requirements of morality that is always ruled by charity.

We need to correct this irregularity before it becomes a formidable and most painful crisis. Let’s practice charity and refinement in our exchanges of opinions. Let’s get a better and firmer grip on what would really comprise our common good.

We also need to have good control over our emotions, passions and temper. Reason has to lead the way, reason enlightened by faith, seasoned by hope and expressed in charity.

And let’s remember that common good is not just a collection of earthly and material goods to be enjoyed by us. It always starts and ends with charity. Without charity, we cannot speak of common good.

It’s charity that insures that everyone is treated justly and fairly, though never uniformly. Some enjoy certain privileges that the other don’t have, but these privileges should be used for the good of all, and not just for sheer personal convenience.