[Episcopal Relief and Development] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Acts 4:34-35

A community's memory of itself was this: We all shared. We took care of each other. Nobody was hungry or in need.

For how long did that happy state of affairs continue? Or was it a memory, like so many of our other memories -- a conviction that once things really were as we think they ought to be? For it was not long before they were tussling over who would care for widows and orphans, how church workers would be compensated, how money would be collected and who would do it. St. Paul himself struck a deal with the leadership, giving him the right to preach the gospel to the Gentiles if he would also raise money from them for the relief of the poor in Jerusalem.

Whenever the first relief campaigns began, it was very early. If the first Christians really did share everything so that nobody was poor, it didn't last -- already, in Acts, it is described in the past tense. For almost all of our history, we've had to raise money to help the poor and the victims of disaster. It doesn't just come in on its own. Sometimes church people don't want to be involved with it. Don't even want to talk about it. Gripe about the rector, often -- All he ever talks about any more is money! But something odd happens when you allow yourself to become involved in giving to people in need: you begin to fall in love. Your heart quickens. People in faraway lands matter to you more. You scan the front page and stop at an article about malaria in Africa or water shortages in Central America or rebuilding in Mississippi, something you might have passed over before, and you read it carefully now. You're invested.

Put your money where your mouth is!, we say. But the truth is more like this: your heart will go where your money has already gone, so choose carefully where you put your money. It's a matter of what you want your life to be about.

To learn more about ERD's work or to make a donation, visit http://www.er-d.org/ or telephone 1-800-334-7626, ext 5129. And visit Pennies From Heaven, now up on http://www.geraniumfarm.org/ -- a new program for your child or a child you know to become personally involved with giving and develop a new appreciation for the meaning of money.
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