Be the Change You Want to See: Encourage the Charity Workers

Yesterday, I heard someone talking about their family member's charity work.  It wasn't in a proud, bragging manner.  It wasn't in an informational manner.  It was in an ugly, demoralizing manner.  Instead of "my cousin worked on this great project where they did (insert activity here)", it was "Yeah my cousin did (project name) but ALL he did was (insert activity).  He has way more money than I do.  He could have done way more."

Not....cool.

Okay, here's the thing.  As someone who does not have a six figure income, I understand the inclination to be critical of rich people.  The funny thing is that there's not necessarily a reason to be.  Yes there are some wealthy people that are assholes...but there are also not so wealthy people that are assholes too.  Did some people inherit their fortune and "don't deserve it?" Yes.  Would I turn down my family's wealth just so I don't have people judge me for my wealth? No, probably not. For all the judgmental ugliness that a whole lot of average people put on the wealthy, they wouldn't turn down the opportunity to have money.

Oh, I know I know .... "If I was wealthy, I'd help more people."

Maybe that's true.  Maybe it's not.  The point is that you could help.  You could donate money every single day and people would still criticize you.  They'd still look at you and say, "Well you could have done more."  They'd still continue to say it until you gave away everything and became just as "poor" as they are.  Sad but true.

Instead of giving in to the inclination to criticize when a wealthy person helps (or any person, for that matter), take a moment to just focus on what they DID do. Maybe it's not their personal best; you don't need to focus on that.  Maybe they could have afforded more; you don't need to focus on that.  If we want this world to become better and kinder, we need to be the change we want to see.  We need to stop focusing on every little thing that people do wrong (and no, I'm not saying we should overlook criminal behavior, I'm talking about general wrong-doing) and focus on what they're doing right.  We need to give props to ANYONE that's helping and encourage (not criticize) them to help in other ways too.

Before you judge someone else's charity work, look at your own.  Chances are, if you are criticizing someone that much, you aren't understanding what charity is all about.