When charity goes too far

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Yes, at what point do we cross the line… Is there even a line?

I personally believe that there is a definant line, and that line lies where the four Cardinal Virtues and the remaining two Theological virtues are overstepped by the Virtue of Love or “charity”. I believe in striving for perfect balance between all seven -and that focusing too heavily on any one of them is neglecting the others… This, I think, is the point where sin begins.

An I right or am I wrong…?
 
You’re right.

Charity is sometimes helping someone to stop taking charity and help himself.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
You’re right.

Charity is sometimes helping someone to stop taking charity and help himself.
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What about “tough love”…? Is there any room for tough love in our modern, overly charitable world -where blunt honesty is seen as intolerance and lacking of charity…? Just wondering.
 
I was watching a documentary on Mickey Mantle last night, and I remember when he was first drafted to New York as a rookie, if he struck out, the fans would get mad and call him names like “ya lousy bum”… 🙂

After a few seasons, Mickey turned around and developed into one of the greatest baseball players of all time… But that’s the East coast attitude in general it seems -an old attitude that’s works well at times.

On the West coast, where I live, it seems like the opposite where people have the attitude of anything goes… You want gay marriage -“who cares”… You want to do drugs -“just be careful”… Oh you lost the game -“that’s okay, mommy’s gonna buy you some ice cream”.

So what’s better… A “tough love” society with stricter morals, or a “free love” society, where anything goes.

(BTW, I have no idea where I’m going with this -it’s just something that came to mind. 🤷 :))
 
OK so the cardinals ran into the Theologicals an somebody stepped on …Could you list them for us old people who can’t remember them… :eek:
 
And then there was St. Francis who had an issue with lepers… but felt God called him to love them. In spite of his repugnance, with huge effort, he got off his horse and embraced a man suffering with leprosy. Like the OP, don’t know where I’m going with this… just saying…
 
No! Charity, properly understood, can never be overdone. There can never be a true conflict between charity and any other virtue, human, cardinal, theological, or whatever.

Because God is love and God infinite.
 
Matt_Collins said:
No! Charity, properly understood, can never be overdone. There can never be a true conflict between charity and any other virtue, human, cardinal, theological, or whatever.

Because God is love and God infinite.
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So say for example, a homeless person is crying in an alley -you ask what’s the matter, and they tell you that they’re so hungry and tired and wished they could get a room for the night and a decent dinner. Being the charitable person that you are, you tell them to wait there -you run to the bank and empty your life savings and return to the alley and give the whole thing away…

When you return home to your pregnant wife she slapps you in the face… Was that slap “justified”, and we’re you being “prudent” when you gave away all your money…?
 
TEPO said:
Yes, at what point do we cross the line… Is there even a line?

I personally believe that there is a definant line, and that line lies where the four Cardinal Virtues and the remaining two Theological virtues are overstepped by the Virtue of Love or “charity”. I believe in striving for perfect balance between all seven -and that focusing too heavily on any one of them is neglecting the others… This, I think, is the point where sin begins.

An I right or am I wrong…?
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Do you have a hypothetical? I think “too much charity” is an oxymoron, for the most part.

Oh wait…
TEPO said:
So say for example, a homeless person is crying in an alley -you ask what’s the matter, and they tell you that they’re so hungry and tired and wished they could get a room for the night and a decent dinner. Being the charitable person that you are, you tell them to wait there -you run to the bank and empty your life savings and return to the alley and give the whole thing away…

When you return home to your pregnant wife she slapps you in the face… Was that slap “justified”, and we’re you being “prudent” when you gave away all your money…?
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Why not just get them a room for the night and some dinner? Also, why are you giving away your wife’s money? Half the marital assets belong to her.
 
Julia_Mae said:
Why not just get them a room for the night and some dinner? Also, why are you giving away your wife’s money? Half the marital assets belong to her.
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The reason he gave away his entire life savings was because he heard on catholic.com, that charity can ‘never be over done’… So he chose to ignore prudence and justification, two very important virtues.
 
Matt_Collins said:
No! Charity, properly understood, can never be overdone. There can never be a true conflict between charity and any other virtue, human, cardinal, theological, or whatever.

Because God is love and God infinite.
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👍 This is a winner!

Giving something to anyone that is not the best thing for them is not Charity.
 
Regina_Love said:
OK so the cardinals ran into the Theologicals an somebody stepped on …Could you list them for us old people who can’t remember them… :eek:
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"In the Catholic catechism, the seven catholic virtues refer to the combination of two lists of virtues, the 4 cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, restraint or temperance, and courage or fortitude, (from ancient Greek philosophy) and the 3 theological virtues of faith, hope, and love or charity (from the letters of Paul of Tarsus); these were adopted by the Church Fathers as the seven virtues."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Virtues
 
+JMJ+
TEPO said:
So say for example, a homeless person is crying in an alley -you ask what’s the matter, and they tell you that they’re so hungry and tired and wished they could get a room for the night and a decent dinner. Being the charitable person that you are, you tell them to wait there -you run to the bank and empty your life savings and return to the alley and give the whole thing away…

When you return home to your pregnant wife she slapps you in the face… Was that slap “justified”, and we’re you being “prudent” when you gave away all your money…?
Click to expand...
Charity is, first and foremost, loving God with your all heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength, then loving your neighbor as yourself for the sake of loving God.

First off, if you are supposed to love God that much, can you even surpass that?

Second off, remember what “neighbor” means: those who are close to you. Your wife is supposed to be closer to you than the homeless person, but you loved the homeless person more than her. Do you still think that’s charity?
 
wmw said:
👍 This is a winner!

Giving something to anyone that is not the best thing for them is not Charity.
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Well if it’s done out of pure love for another, then of course it’s charity… It’s just not Prudent, or Justified -two other equally important virtues.
 
TEPO said:
What about “tough love”…? Is there any room for tough love in our modern, overly charitable world -where blunt honesty is seen as intolerance and lacking of charity…? Just wondering.
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I hope so, because sometimes, that’s the only approach that works. Putting a pillow under some people’s behinds just cushions them from the consequences of their own decisions.
 
TEPO said:
The reason he gave away his entire life savings was because he heard on catholic.com, that charity can ‘never be over done’… So he chose to ignore prudence and justification, two very important virtues.
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It wasn’t his life savings, was my point. He can give away all his money any time he wants. Giving away others’ money is not charity, it’s theft.
 
nuntym said:
+JMJ+

Charity is, first and foremost, loving God with your all heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength, then loving your neighbor as yourself for the sake of loving God.

First off, if you are supposed to love God that much, can you even surpass that?

Second off, remember what “neighbor” means: those who are close to you. Your wife is supposed to be closer to you than the homeless person, but you loved the homeless person more than her. Do you still think that’s charity?
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So basically you are telling me that there are limits and possibly even a ‘pecking order’ on our charitable expressions towards others… I somewhat agree.

What I don’t understand is why my fellow Catholics are so staunchly opposed to accepting the other six Holy Catholic Virtues, as being equal. Is a perfect balance of all seven not ideal…? Maybe the theological virtues are greater than the Cardinal virtues…? I’m not so sure.:o
 
TEPO said:
Well if it’s done out of pure love for another, then of course it’s charity… It’s just not Prudent, or Justified -two other equally important virtues.
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They are NOT “equally important.” This is the teaching of the Church:

Charity

1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

1823 Jesus makes charity the new commandment.96 By loving his own "to the end,"97 he makes manifest the Father’s love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."98

1824 Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love."99

1825 Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies."100 The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.101

The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."102
1826 “If I . . . have not charity,” says the Apostle, “I am nothing.” Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing."103** Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: **"So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."104
 
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