Charity is the key element in most religions, especially the six major world religions. The Bible mentions charity numerous times in the New Testament and offerings even more often in the Old Testament. Of Course, the Bible’s Old Testament is a compilation of the Jewish Torah (The Law), Neviim (The Prophets), and Ketuvim (The Writings). Islam’s sacred writing mentions the term charity throughout the Quran, especially in its first and longest Surah, The Cow. Though the word charity isn’t used in Hindu writings, the premise of giving and aiding others is prevalent within the Rig Veda, Thirukkural, Bhagawad Gita, and other writings. Concerning charity in Buddhism, H.H. The Dalai Lama has stated, “... from the time of Buddha until today all forms of Buddhism have been continuously trying to help people, whether in social groups or individually ... The freedom and happiness of all living beings have always been the ultimate ideal and the working goal.”3The sixth major world religion is Skihism, which carries a synthesized belief system from Islam and Hinduism.
Additionally, the Bible’s Old Testament has several references to the word “sevenfold”and the phrase “seven times”,4stating that what you put out through your actions (energy) comes back to you seven times stronger.
Genesis states in 4:15 & 24 that if Cain is slain, he’ll be avenged sevenfold; the punishment for stealing is to pay what was stolen back sevenfold in Proverbs 6:31; and Isaiah 30:26 states that the sun shines seven times brighter than the moon.
3 H.H. The Dalai Lama, Buddhism in Practice, Snow Lion Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 2, Snow Lion Publications, 1993.
4Terminology: Jones, Alexander (Editor), The Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966.
It’s better to give than to receive.
It’s the way the universe works. It’s a fundamental part of our lives.
When you seek success in anything, you have a tendency to focus totally on the goal and the process of getting there. That’s a problem. The more you chase after your own goals and pursue your self-interest, the more they elude you. When you’re in a state of doing only for yourself, you are off your purpose.
Remember the previous discussion on the expansion of energy? What you have inside you, you radiate. What you give off, you attract to you. If you’re focusing on your own self-interests, it’s the same as being greedy. You’re only concerned with receiving, which means you don’t give. If you don’t give, the universe doesn’t give back to you. When you freely give only to help others without concern for what you’ll receive in return, then the universe gives back to you in greater amounts. It’s as simple as that.
You attract what you give, what’s inside of you. If you give love, respect and empowerment, the universe returns what you radiate sevenfold. If you give of yourself in time and money, the universe returns your giving sevenfold.
Tammy is a single parent, who was having trouble making ends meet. She had been let go from her job and received no child support. Jobs were scarce and the rent was coming due. No matter what she did, she seemed to fail. The more she scrimped and worried, the worse her situation became. One day while visiting and keeping her mother company, they watched the 700 Club. There were a couple families on the show telling about how they were having serious financial problems. The people had seen the 700 Club’s message about giving. Needless to say, Tammy decided to give ten percent of the little she had to the 700 Club’s Operation Blessing and begin cherishing what she and her children had, rather than focusing on what they didn’t have. Less than a week after giving to the charity, she found a job, allowing her to keep her apartment. She continued to give ten percent of her salary, regardless of her needs, and the universe continued to give to her in abundance. She now owns her own business and just purchased a new home.
We have heard many such stories like Tammy’s. In each case, the people take the focus off themselves and their problems, give only for the purpose of giving and helping others, and receive sevenfold for their gift to the universe.
Did You Know?In BusinessWeek’s Philanthropy 20045, they reported the following:
Donor(s) Bill & Melinda Gates
Position in IndustryMicrosoft founder
Gordon & Betty Moore
Co-Founder, Intel Corporation
Donation Amount Est. $3
billion in MS dividends
$265
million/2/3 of wealth
mogul
$200
million6
Charity
Gates’ charitable foundation, helping many charities
Ocean research & training for nurses/ conservation &
science
Medical research
5 Conlin, Michelle, Gard, Lauren, and Hempel, Jessi with Hazelwood, Kate, Polek, David, and Fianco, Tony, Philanthropy 2004, BusinessWeek, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., November 29, 2004
Sidney E. Frank Liquor import king $100 million University scholarships
Stephen M. Ross Related Cos., CEO $100 million A university school
Oprah Winfrey
Haim & Cheryl Saban
William & Alice Goodwin
Pierre Omidyar Ted Turner Veronica Atkins Widow of diet guru,
Dr. Robert Atkins Talk show host and actress
Founder, Chairman & CEO, Fox Family Worldwide
AMF Bowling
Chairman
eBay founder
James & Virginia Stowers, Jr.
Dell Computers, Chairman of the Board
Media Mogul
American Century Cos. founder
Almost $600 million
$1 billion $500 million Diabetes & obesity of business
Children’s causes
Over $116
million
Over $116
million
Education
3/5 of their wealth
Over $116 million
2/3 of
wealth
Cancer research & education
Various charities types
Medical research
Actress Angelia Jolie is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and has spent millions of her own money to help in developing countries, as well as other charities.
Bono, lead singer of U2, has worked tirelessly to gather celebrities, politicians and government leaders to relieve the needless death of children in Africa through contributions, fund-raising, and forgiving debts owed by Africa to other nations. He gives both time and money to make a difference.
This list is only a fraction of the wealthy, which give both time and money to help others. This isn’t a new trend. Over the years, many, who have inherited or obtained wealth, have donated large portions of their wealth to help others. The Rockefellers are an excellent example. By giving, they received more and kept what they already had.
6Mr. Mann intends to leave his entire $1.4 billion estate to charity, according to the referenced BusinessWeek article.Moving Toward Success
To move into the realm of purpose (the process of moving forward toward success), you must give and serve others. Focus on your goal in the NOW by continually working toward it without being “attached” to it. As soon as you attach emotion to the goal, it eludes you. Attach your emotion to helping others, and your success will chase after you.
Keep your giving to yourself. Otherwise, you cancel out its effect in the universe. If you’re giving your time and resources for the right reason, you don’t have a need to discuss it. The information on the philanthropists listed earlier came from public records. Though you know about Bono’s works, which is necessary to gain more support, he never discloses how much he personally donates each year.
So, give of time and money to succeed.• Copy the table on page 50.
• In the first column, list the charities that you currently support financially. Include amounts, frequency and the charity. For example:
$100 monthly, St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
• In the second column, make a list of all that you currently do in time and effort to aid and support charities and those in need. Include the amount of time, what it is you do, frequency, the charity, and how it helps. Example:
2 hrs, weekly, local food pantry, helps homeless/poor.• In the third and fourth columns, list what additional things you would like to do now and in the future.
• Later chapters in this book will help you free up more of your time. Remember, giving of time can be a family project.
When John’s children were preteens and teens, he and his wife did a lot of volunteering for charity in which their children could help. Here are just two of the projects, where their children received lessons that would take them through adulthood: They taught English to third-world families, new to the United States, who were sponsored by their church. The children helped with John’s work for a political campaign — delivering pamphlets door-to-door and working in the campaign headquarters while he made calls to party members.
Just think what working in a soup kitchen or a food pantry would do to help your own children better appreciate what they have.• There are two methods that people use to determine how much to give financially: The first is to start with a comfortable amount, and then double it. The second (and most popular) is to just use the ten percent of income rule. Ten percent is the minimum you should be giving. If you feel like giving more, do so.
• Now, use these two last columns as goals to achieve and start working toward them. (Financially, the ten percent should be done immediately to a worthwhile charity. Anything above and beyond the ten percent is your goal to work toward.)
Current Charitable Efforts Financially Time & Effort Planned Charitable Efforts Financially Time & Effort