Charity Reflection
Charity work is voluntary unpaid work or contribution, which is done for the aid of the needy. It is an act of showing love and compassion towards other people. Charity work is essential because it ensures the welfare of the less privileged. During charity work, it is necessary to give the people material support and also give them ways of how to fend for themselves. However, charities can be toxic because they aid in the development of an unhealthy culture of dependency. This paper will discuss how the charity has led to the development of a culture of dependency. It will also discuss the aspects of mercy and justice in charity.
According to the author, aid has increased poverty among the people and has also slowed down economic growth (Lupton, 2011). I agree with the author because aid has discouraged the spirit of entrepreneurship among the people. For decades people depend on charity to provide them food. Since support has sufficiently offered them food and other human wants, they have developed a mentality of depending on people’s help and donation (Ellison, 2007). This, therefore, has changed the approach of doing charity in a way that encourages an unhealthy culture of dependency. The donors do charity for the people and not with the people (Dean, 2014). This approach makes charity toxic because it discourages self-sufficiency among the people receiving aid.
During charity, the giver should have mercy and justice towards the receiver. Doing so is essential as it leads to holistic involvement in charity work. Mercy makes us engage in practices of compassion. We should also be fair and reasonable, especially about the way we treat the people who need our help (Keys, 2014). I agree with the author because with either mercy and justice in charity works; it would lead to dependency and preserve the power of the donor over that of the recipient. However, having both mercy and justice in charity works is vital because it would solve the problems of the recipients completely. This is because it would offer immediate care of the recipients and also give a plan. This would, therefore, make the recipients independent in the future and hence promoting the culture of self-sufficiency. This approach is efficient since it gives the people cure and the care and therefore develops trusting relationships (Sargeant, 2004).
Charity work is important because it has enabled people to get food and other basic needs for a long time. It is also true that many people engage in the practice of compassion towards the needy. This has made the donations the recipients get to sufficient and hence encouraged lack of self-sufficiency because they can get enough. This has made charity work toxic since the people no longer think of entrepreneurship as they get enough from aid.
References
Dean, H., & Taylor-Gooby, P. (2014). Dependency on culture. Routledge.
Ellison, G. (2007). Fostering a dependency culture: the commodification of community policing in a global marketplace. CRAFTING TRANSNATIONAL POLICING: POLICE CAPACITY BUILDING AND GLOBAL POLICING REFORM, Andrew Goldsmith, James Sheptycki, eds., Hart Publishing.
Keys, M. M. (2014). Why justice is not enough: Mercy, love-Caritas, and the common good. The common good: Chinese and American perspectives (pp. 243-259). Springer, Dordrecht.
Lupton, R. D. (2011). Toxic charity. How churches and charities hurt those, they help.
Sargeant, A., & Lee, S. (2004). Donor trust and relationship commitment in the UK charity sector: The impact on behavior. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33(2), 185-202.