Charity Supports Detachment

To foster detachment from the world and encourage love for the Creator, most spiritual traditions encourage us to give away a part of our earnings. Charity expresses the love that is the Creator by providing for others whose material circumstances make life difficult for them. Charity is not about the quantity given; it is about the love with which we give.

What we find in practice is that even though we may want to give in charity, we find it difficult to do so because we are attached to whatever we possess. We do not see that charity brings with it its own rewards. Giving away part of our hard-earned income inculcates in us awareness that of everything we have, we actually own nothing.…

Everything that we think of as ours, whether it is family, friends, possessions or other forms of wealth, are gifts that have been placed in our keeping. If we understand this, we will develop in our hearts a spirit of charity towards all life. We can then enjoy whatever we have without becoming possessed.

Our only real possession is our spiritual wealth, which we earn through worshipping the Creator. Giving away some of our material wealth is a way of reminding ourselves of this fact, and of expressing our reverence and gratitude to the Creator.…

True charity is liberating and strengthening. It frees the mind and reinforces our decision to cast in our lot with a power that promises infinitely more than all the wealth of the world can bring.
_{Honest Living}