True Religion is This. . .

I slip an extra pound note into his hand and watch as Radjo, the gas station attendant, adds it to the stack of paper bills he holds to make change for customers. I hope he gets the tip. I hope it helps him in some small way even though with inflation now, it will be just enough for a bag of bread. I hope he understands that I am not trying to buy his loyalty to get a full gas tank when others are just getting a quarter or so because of fuel rationing. 

I give freely because I want to give, not because I am a millionaire but because my heart is broken by the sadness I encounter every day. Young men digging through putrid garbage trying to find a bite to bring home to their families. Mothers with little ones on their knee as they sit sweltering in the summer sun by the side of the road and wait for a handout from a passerby. I carry food bags in my car to hand out where I can, not because I expect anything in return, but because I am loyal to helping others. 

And therein is the catch. Sometimes loyalty can be bought. If you have enough money, if you have enough pull to give privileges in your sphere of influence, you can give it away “like it’s extra change,” always knowing there will be something coming back your way in return. 

The paradigm that I grew up with, while I understand it, goes against everything I believe in. It’s almost as if I can feel the atoms in my body linking hands, resolutely refusing in solidarity to approve of it. I hesitate to take. But I never stop giving. It is what God asked me to do, to share my bread with the hungry and give clothes to those who need them (Isaiah 58:7). Perhaps this is why God describes this type of giving as true Christianity. Because He knew that if I gave to those who could not give in return, I would understand what true loyalty is.