Let Them Eat Cake!

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of going Christmas shopping. Each December my parents and I made the nearly two hour trek from St. Helena (in northern California), down the Silverado Trail, to Macy’s, in San Francisco. I looked forward to the window displays, and the store Santa, of course, but was equally enchanted by the bell ringers that manned the red Salvation Army kettles on the sidewalks outside. I loved to add coins to their pots.

As a child, I’m sure the concept of charity was hazy at best, probably presented to me as “giving to the poor.” I just liked dropping coins through the slot, and all that bright, bright red!

But Christmas is a time of charity, a time of giving. One reads about mitten trees and Toys for Tots. One even encounters the occasional Salvation Army bell ringer, though companies have increasingly removed them from the marketplace. I guess it’s bad for business to remind shoppers of those less fortunate. And lest they seem Scrooge-ish, these same businesses make big donations themselves.

Unfortunately, much of charity is of the “let them eat cake” variety. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy defines this as “a saying that shows insensitivity to, or incomprehension of, the realities of life for the unfortunate.” The quote is supposedly made by a princess who, after being told her people had no food, replied, “Let them eat cake.” Sweet treats have little value to someone who, in reality, needs meat and potatoes--nay, a living, in fact.

And yet, charitable giving often consists of such short-termed reprieves, parties, dinners, events that allow those less fortunate to be “normal” for a few hours--before they return to their heating bills, and growing children and true needs. A lot of charity is also of a secondhand variety, goods no longer “good enough” given to churches and community thrift stores who cater to a sector for whom something is better than nothing. There's nothing wrong with that really. It's good to "recycle," afterall, and one man's trash is another's treasure. It just seems a bit demeaning, rubs noses in the idea that not everyone is worth brand new merchandise.

I can’t help wondering if some of these gestures aren’t more for those giving them than for those receiving them--to assuage guilt at having so much, to show others how to be like “them,” or to gain personal recognition. The parable of the widow and her two mites actually condemns the latter, showboat giving. The widow's two mites were deemed more valuable, because they came of pure motive, than the great riches the Pharisees bestowed with self-interested motive.

True charity is about assisting others in achieving their objectives, their goals, their dreams--for their gain.

A calendar I saw once carried the saying: “True charity is giving your brother a dime when you need it yourself.” This implies that true charity involves personal investment and sacrifice--not superficial overtures and leftovers. True charity comes from listening and hearing, and from giving away something truly valuable--love and good will.