173. Guidelines for giving
173. GUIDELINES FOR GIVING
1. Is giving alms (helping others in some concrete material or spiritual ways) necessary for salvation?
2. How much are we bound we give?
(1) No man is punished eternally for omitting to do what is not a matter of precept (commandment). But some are punished eternally for omitting to give alms, as is clear from Matthew 25:41-43. Therefore almsgiving is a matter of precept.
As love of our neighbor is a matter of precept, whatever is a necessary condition to the love of our neighbor is a matter of precept also. Now the love of our neighbor requires that not only should we be our neighbor’s well-wishers, but also his well-doers, according to 1 John 3:18: Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And in order to be a person’s well-wisher and well-doer, we ought to succor his needs. This is done by almsgiving. Therefore almsgiving is a matter of precept.
(2) On the part of the recipient it is requisite that he should be in need, else there would be no reason for giving him alms.
Yet since it is not possible for one individual to relieve the needs of all, we are not bound to relieve all who are in need, but only those who could not be succored if we did not succor them. . . .
Accordingly, we are bound (1) to give alms of our surplus, and also (2) to give alms to one whose need is extreme; (3) otherwise almsgiving, like any other greater good, is a matter of counsel (II-II,32,5).
St. Thomas always gives reasonable answers to hard questions.
There is no love (charity) without the works of love (alms); and Christ and the saints tell us we will be judged by God on our charity; therefore we will be judged on our alms. To refuse alms (help) to the needy neighbor is to refuse Christ. So almsgiving (the works of love) is “a matter of precept (commandment)”, not a matter of “counsel” (advice). In fact it is a requirement for salvation, since we are not, according to Scripture, “justified by faith alone” (Jas 2:24). “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (Jas 2:17); it is not live faith, not faith that gives us eternal life, not saving faith.
But how much are we to give? This can mean three things: (1) How much must we give if we are to be saved? (2) How much ought we to give? (3) How much would be the ideal to give? There is obviously no exact quantitative answer to any one of these three question which is the same for everyone, e.g., “$1,000”, or “exactly 10% of your net income”. The very question “How much?” is suspect: it sounds like the questioner is trying to squeak by with the minimum. If so, that proves the questioner does not have charity at all, because charity never does that. There is no quantitative minimum or maximum. It’s love, not math.
Obviously the interior motive and honesty counts more than the exterior quantity. Yet the quantity counts too, and the quantity is dependent on others’ needs and on our own generosity.
St. Thomas’ last three paragraphs (his answer to question 2) can hardly be made any clearer. (1) Our “surplus” is by definition not our need, so we are obligated to use it to relieve others’ needs. Of course, our first “others” are members of our own family. (2) Common sense requires us to practice a kind of triage, prioritizing the greatest needs. (3) And how much we go beyond these commanded necessities is a matter of “counsel” (good advice, ideals) rather than “commandment” (obligations). The more generosity, the merrier, both for the receiver and also for the giver. If you are surprised to hear that, you’ve never practiced sacrificial giving and experienced its inevitable deep joy. Try it, you’ll like it.