Quotations and Literature Forum

I am looking for a quote to motivate people to donate to a mission.
In Belize poverty prevents many children from attending school and
even eating at times! We have no concept of this in our country. I
know if we don't help the least of these when we know to do it that
we have refused to help our Savior but don't know how to word it
without seeming judgmental or harsh. Any ideas?

MGM (this website) has 8 quotes on "charity" at
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/charity

I plundered these quotes from a collection at
http://www.geocities.com/spirit_of_giving/quotes.htm

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
~Kahlil Gibran

"Two kinds of gratitude:
The sudden kind we feel for what we take;
the larger kind we feel for what we give."
~E.A. Robinson

"Complete possession is proved only by giving.
All you are unable to give possesses you."
~Andre Gide

"The best portion of a good man's life is
his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."
~William Wordsworth

"Gratitude makes us feel bursting with delight, just to remember the gifts we have received. Thus we are doubly blessed when we receive something--for the gift itself and later, in recall, for the miracle of having been given it."
~M.J. Ryan

"May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive,
which is wrapped in thoughtfulness, and tied with love."
~L.O. Baird

"No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be,
you are special, and you still have something unique to offer.
Your life, because of who you are, has meaning."
~Barbara De Angelis

"It is possible to give without loving,
but it is impossible to love without giving."
~Richard Braunstein

"Should not the giver be thankful that the receiver received?
Is not giving a need? Is not receiving, mercy?"
~Nietzsche

"The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able
to give a large part of oneself to others."
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."
~Mother Teresa

"It is rare indeed that people give. Most people guard and keep; they suppose that it is they themselves and what they identify with themselves that they are guarding and keeping, whereas what they are actually guarding and keeping is their system of reality and what they assume themselves to be."
~James Baldwin

"We must not only give what we have;
we must also give what we are."
~Joseph Mercier

"The human contribution is the essential ingredient.
It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live."
~Ethel Percy Andrus

"Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love."
~Lao-Tzu

"We make a living by what we get,
but we make a life by what we give."
~Winston Churchill

"If all my pain and all my tears,
And all that I have learned throughout the years
Could make one perfect song
To lift some fallen head
To light some darkened mind,
I should feel that not in vain
I served mankind."
~Marguerite Few

"It is well to give when asked,
but it is better to give unasked, through understanding."
~Kahlil Gibran

In a world that has all the resources, scientific and technological knowledge and grand prospects to assure a decent life for every body, we witness a surplus of hunger, epidemics, poverty, unemployment, exploitation of child labour, sickness homelessness, desperation and illiteracy that stalk the millions in the third world countries.
~from an article by Avtar Sadiq
http://www.ganashakti.com/old/2001/010108/world.htm

On the other hand...

"No people do so much harm as those who go around doing good."
— Mandell Creighton (1843-1901), The Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton, vol II

_________________
Regards,
Lou
I feel like a fugitive from th' law of averages.
— Bill Mauldin

Oh, and don't forget, in the King James Version of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, the word "love" does not appear. Originally, this chapter was referred to as "the praises of charity." It seems that modern generations wanted it to be about "love," so they changed it. Here's how it is in the KJV:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though
I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it
profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not
easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put
away childish things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the
greatest of these is charity.
~The Bible, King James Version, 1 Corinthians 13

Matthew 6:
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

_________________
Regards,
Lou
I feel like a fugitive from th' law of averages.
— Bill Mauldin

Thanks for your time and thought. This is a great site!

This doesn't really motivate people to give money; however this is what opened my eyes. I read this one day and realized, just all of a sudden that all of my years of uncertainty were ok. In the end it really is between God and I, and none of the people trying to bring me down matter. I thought you would like this, (though im sure youve seen it before.)



People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends
and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Theresa

_________________
It's not my fault, I'm from a small town.

Sorry about this, but I feel a need to clear up the attribution for that piece (which I really like, too, by the way). This blurb that was found at the first link provided says it all better than I can, so here goes...

The Paradoxical Commandments
© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, 2000
The Paradoxical Commandments were part of The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, Kent's first booklet for high school student leaders.
So why do so many people believe this is a poem called "Anyway" written by Mother Teresa? Because eight of the original ten Paradoxical Commandments were hung on the wall of her home for children in Calcutta, under the title "Anyway."
How does the true Author, Kent Keith, feel about all the modifications to his work? Kent said: "When I think about all this, I am fascinated at the way the Paradoxical Commandments have spread, and I am very touched that so many people have shared them and made them their own. That is deeply satisfying to me."
When Kent learned that Mother Teresa had the Paradoxical Commandments on the wall of her children's home in Calcutta, He was deeply moved, and decided to write a book about them. The book...is entitled: "The Paradoxical Commandments: Finding Personal Meaning in a Crazy World."
http://www.motherteresa.com/poem.htm
http://www.mcfeth.com/poetry/teresa.htm

I know I've quoted this before on this forum, but it's one of my all-time favorites, I try to live by it, and it fits this thread so well:

"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God . . . " -- Walt Whitman

I hadn't heard 'The Paradoxical Commandments' before. One thing that really impressed me: this poem has been mutated and spread around the Internet and even published in various forms in various books. Instead of agressively pursuing all of these uses with legal means like some authors I might mention, Mr. Keith seems to enjoy them and has a page where he lists all of the places the poem has been seen.

http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/sightings.html

_________________
Michael Moncur
Owner and maintainer, The Quotations Page

I love these and heard them for the first time a couple of weeks ago when
my son read them to me over long distance. He's in Hampton, VA. I also
love Walt Whitman. I wish I had more time to spend at this site. You
people are fascinating. By the way, the donation part didn't really work
out. My daughter and grandson went on a mission trip to Belize and it
was a lot of work raising money for it. If you have a passion for the
people like she does, having been there before, you understand their
needs and you have a deep desire to help. Both of my grandsons have
this same passion, each having been to Belize once. I believe everyone
needs a passion in life. Thank you all for your insight and sharing with
us all.