On Charity and Faith

Charity and faith: thus do I speak unto the uncharitable. For not all of those who have faith shall have charity, and not all who are charitable have faith.

For many are the faithful who do not know how to give, and thus do I speak unto their shame: for many are the faithless who do know how to give!

But faith and charity, thus do I call the smoke which arises from the flame, the incense of philanthropy that radiates from the fire of one's faith.

A burnt offering is that of charity: it delights in its thanksgiving unto man and God. It is the alms that would make a king of a beggar, even when the beggar is the one who gives the alms!

A blessing and a benediction is that of charity. Such almsgiving is the crown that would coronate, even though it be made of thorns.

A gospel of sacrifice does Ding Dong preach, unto all who have faith: let not your faith be in vain, but let the cross truly be the definition of your faith.

Through the cross of benediction and sacrifice is one's love realized, for who could say that they love without having died for what they love?

A scarlet cloak of humiliation is reserved for the faithful with charity: one does not seek poverty, yet it is through a little poverty that the riches of the Spirit are realized.

As of the faithless with charity, their charity benefits the world, yet not themselves. I would have the faithless burn with the fire of Conscious Faith, from the inspiration of the living God. For such givers without faith, I would have them study.

Yet to the faithful without charity, such faith is desperate and poor. It hides and crawls in dark corners, although its couch speaks of much comfort.

"Strong is my faith in the Lord," speaks the uncharitable. Yet when approached with the bill for one's faith, one is reluctant to pay.

The cross do I recommend for the faithful without charity, for it is in giving that we receive; it is in hunger that one is filled; it is through humiliation that we are exalted.

So seek to be the spirit of charity, if your faith would soar on higher wings. Holy is the marriage between the giver and the recipient, for it is through the gift of charity that both are sanctified.

Thus speaks Ding Dong.