Charity

We use the word "charity" when we talk about benevolent giving, especially to the poor. But charity means also love for one's neighbor:

charity (n.)

mid-12c., "benevolence for the poor," from Old French charité "(Christian) charity, mercy, compassion; alms; charitable foundation" (12c., Old North French carité), from Latin caritatem (nominative caritas) "costliness, esteem, affection" (in Vulgate often used as translation of Greek agape "love" -- especially Christian love of fellow man.

(From: http://www.etymonline.com)

We have created a world in which charity has replaced justice. Because we have charity, we are told that we should tolerate some measure of injustice. But what kind of justice co-exists happily with injustice?

The idea of charity as substitution for justice is in stark contrast with the concept that the love for one's neighbor must equal one's love for oneself. We all wish ourselves well, but in an unjust world, we don't always fare well - nor do others - wherefore we become unjust in order to secure our own survival. Thus injustice becomes the very reason charity is needed, instead of charity being a patch-up for a temporary hiccup in an otherwise functional system.

If charity is necessary in an unjust world, what prevents us from creating a just world in which charity becomes a once a year event to fund a new public park, instead of the daily event it is today? There is enough for everyone, and everyone would have enough, if we would only seek justice.

The problem is, of course, greed. We don't believe there is enough for everyone, perhaps because we've never had enough. It can be hard to trust others, but if we want a world in everyone has a chance to thrive, we have to take that risk. Sharing is caring in more ways that charity will ever be. We will never experience the prosperity and abundance that justice provides unless we are willing to view life as something bigger and greater than the things we own.

Charity is a momentary manifestation of love; justice its bedrock. A society built on charity is like a house that the wind blew down, for it lacked a solid foundation. A society built on justice is immovable and enduring, as love is enduring.