by Rodolfo N. Lentejas, Jr.

Created on: May 21, 2008

Charity is always voluntary; if it's compelled, then we are destroying its precious meaning.

If we try to unlock the historical evolution of the word "charity," we will discover that charity actually was derived from the Latin word "caritas," which means love. So charity is love. "It is a benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity" realized through giving assistance to those in need. The underlying force behind this generous act of giving assistance to people in need is none other than love. We know that love is a product of freedom, precisely because no one can force us to love somebody, just as we can never force other people to love us. Love is an act which originates from the bottom of one's heart and this love translates and being put into actions. A concrete example of this is a charitable act or simply called charity. But if love is kept within the confines of one's heart, then he or she is destroying the very essence of love. Love is light that spreads all over. Like a light that shines through the darkness of the night, charity gives light and hope to the people who live in the darkness of destitution.

Like the sun which radiates a generous light to all of us without us asking for it, charity is always voluntary and must be given to the needy from the gratuitous act of the person of goodwill even without them (needy people) asking for it. Just as we can never compel the sun to shine everyday for it shines with its own power, so too we can never compel rich figures and wealthy nations around the world to shower those in need with material necessities. The act of giving must always start from the heart. We are precisely gifted with a "human sensor" called the heart to identify people who are destitute and poor. It is within the power of the rich and the powerful to decide for themselves if they want to be loving or be forever selfish.

If we scan the economic condition of the world today, there is an obvious imbalance of the distribution of wealth. There is a massive inequality of economic and human condition of living. While others live like kings; others live like pigs. While others live to eat; others eat just to live. Given this scenario, it is honestly tempting to say that time has come for charity to be revolutionized and be compelled on all denizens of the world, if the human rights world wants an equal opportunity for all. Yet initiating this move, no matter how noble this may seem, is again a violation of the basic human right to freedom of

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