When I was a teen I used to wonder about the unequal distribution of wealth. I think I'm not the only one. You may have asked the same question to others and to yourself also, 'why do people don't give away their money to who are in need?' I guess, there is no need to say that time passes by and I started to get the real meaning of 'money', how it works, and all the answers of mine.
But one question always keeps bothering me by seeing all the unequal distribution of money and the unwillingness of people aND that is 'can charity really make a difference'?
Obviously, there are thousands of charitable programs around the world. People volunteer, people donate their money, resources, time, effort, and whatnot. You will find charity programs that covers almost everything. So the question is, does it making a difference? Does it making the world a better place?
I had a long experience working with different charity programs and nongovernmental organizations. From my student life to job life I had the chance to work closely with many charitable organizations. As per my experience, I would say YES. Charity makes a difference. We may not see the result clearly as there are so many things happening around us and charitable programs doesn't focus on visibility. That's why it's easy to unnotice them. But charity surely helps.
And if I talk about our religious responsibly, then we must believe and act the same, we must involve ourselves in charity and donation. You may have heard about Zakat; if I talk specifically about it then I must say how beautiful the system is to maintain a proper distribution of wealth. But it's very unfortunate we don't follow this basic principle of Islam.
I sometimes wonder seeing the amount of wealth some of the top industrialists hold thinking if they properly follow the principle of Zakat, there will be no poverty in our country. And it's just not about our country. Every Muslim country has this same issue. Just think about your wealth, if you give away only 2.5% of it, no matter if you have 100 or 1000 it will not make a huge difference in your wealth but sure on other's life.
When I first start earning money, I find it really difficult to make my mind to give a proportion to the people in need. I always felt that there are many other with lots of wealth who can easily do that, I don't have to worry, this is not my responsibility. Now I understand how wrong I was. It doesn't matter if Zakat is mandatory for you or not, you always can choose to give away whatever you can. And believe me, this charity comes with so much happiness and peace of mind, I can't explain.
I came to this point by motivating myself believing, 'this is not my money. I'm only just the depositor of this wealth whom our creator choose to. So I must give it away as much as I can'. And believe me, this understanding gave me so much peace and courage to give away, I feel blessed.
Remember, life will pay you back the way you treat others.
Have a happy weekend and give away as much as you can, even if your charity is in a form of 'Smile'!
THANKS FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!
Much Love
I'm a life & nature enthusiast, I love to learn human psychology, I'm a 'Book worm' and very introvert but also love to travel. I'm trying to live mindfully and most importantly, I'm a positive learner.
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I agree with you. We should all give our time or effort sometimes to help others who need it more than we do. It doesn't have to be all the time, but every now and then.
Helping brings us some reward too, in the form of happiness and personal satisfaction mostly, but if you believe in karma, it could potentially bring a lot more back down the line. As the saying goes, "What goes around comes around".
This is why I have started giving a bit to random people around the area where I live and work. I'm using Hive for that. Check it out. #WhoAreTheyPhilippines
Good to know your thoughts. I totally agree with you. Showing random act of kindness and giving away small financial donation doesn't sound much but it actually matters.
I wish everyone can understand that and enlarge their hands for charity.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have a great day!