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“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matthew 25:34–40 NLT)
Where frugality is about tempering your desires, charity is about eagerly sharing what you have with those in need; they are two sides to the same coin. Charity is not done out of obligation. True charity isn’t even about a set amount or percentage given every month. The discipline of charity, like all disciplines, is concerned with molding our hearts and our lives into a shape that mirrors what we see in Christ. In Matthew 25, Jesus explicitly tells His disciples that to give food, drink, hospitality, clothing, and comfort to those in need is the same as giving those things to Him.
This goes back to an earlier passage where Jesus talks about the greatest command: to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. He then attaches loving your neighbor as equally important. To love God and to love others is the summation of the law and the prophets. Find some way today to act charitably toward someone who most needs it. You might give food or clothing to someone without or visit a friend who’s sick or in mourning. Open up your heart, your time, and your resources to someone in need.
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It is clear that it is specifically the same act whereby we love God, and whereby we love our neighbor.
—Thomas Aquinas
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