Sirach 3:30 – “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.” 
It may be a new knowledge for many that if we help the poor, God will forgive our sins just like spraying water can stop the spreading of a fire.  When we spray water on a fire, our intention is to quench the fire.  We might not have been doing charity with the intention of atoning for our sins.  God might be forgiving anyway if we do charity.  From now on, when we help the poor, we can ask God to forgive our sins too.  The word of God gives hope towards that.  

Other benefits of giving alms
1)Almsgiving Saves us from evil - “Store up almsgiving in your treasure house, and it will save you from every evil” (Sirach 29:12).

2)Almsgiving Saves us from death and darkness - “Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps one from going into the dark abode.” This may mean that doing charity can save us from the death of our soul and going to hell (Tobit 4:10).

3)God repays us for our almsgiving- “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed” (Proverbs 19:17). 

4)God will guard you and answer your prayers – It explains what is true fasting and what is the easy way for God to hear your prayer.  It says that when you help the needy and the poor, your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will guard you from behind. Also it says that when you call God, He will answer you( Isaiah 58:7-9).

5)God will give us light in darkness for our almsgiving- “And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday” (Isaiah 58:10).  This means that God will give us hope in the darkest situations of our life.

6)The righteousness of a charitable person endures forever - “It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; he will maintain his cause in judgment.  For he will never be shaken; the righteousness will be remembered forever”( Psalm 112:5, 6).  This man will be justified by God at the Last Judgment.  He has given freely to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted in honor” (Psalm 112:9). He will be glorified in front of God.

7)God loves a charitable person
 “God loves a cheerful giver” (2nd Corinthians 9:7).  Jesus knew the heart of Zacchaeus and told him that he would stay in his house that night (Luke chapter 19). Zacchaeus repents and tells Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8).
As Zacchaeus repented and became willing to give his possessions to the poor, Jesus loved him. “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him” (1 John 3:17) ?  God will not love someone who sees a suffering brother and walks away without helping.

How should you give alms?

1)Give according to what you have - “Son, give alms in proportion to what you own.  If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, distribute even some of that” (Tobit 4:8).  This reminds us of the offering of two small copper coins by the poor widow.  Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury” (Mark 12:43). 
  
2)Give to those who cannot repay - “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:13, 14).

3)Give sufficient of whatever others lack - “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks”( Deuteronomy 15:7,8).  You should not just give something and walk away.  Give him sufficient to meet his need.

4)Do not turn away from the needy - “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”  We should not ignore a needy person (Matthew 5:42).

5)Help the poor in secret - “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father  who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3,4).

6)Giving to the poor as if you are giving to Jesus -At the Last Judgment, Jesus will judge according to our deeds. Jesus said that everything we do to the poor, we do it to Him (Matthew 25:35, 36).  “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you game Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and You invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Luke chapter 10).  In the parable of the good Samaritan who helped the man attacked by the robbers, he gave two denarii to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you” (Luke 10:35).  The priest and the Levite who went that way did nothing to help that man.  The name of the good Samaritan is honored forever in the Bible.

Greed is your enemy
 “Beware , and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).  Life with God has nothing to do with our  possessions in the world.  In  Luke chapter 12, Jesus says the parable of the rich man who plans to store up his grains by building bigger barns and enjoy his life. God said to him, “You fool!  This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared”(Luke 12:20)?   Jesus said, “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys”( Luke 12:33). Our focus should be to store up our heavenly possessions (Luke 18:22 & Matthew 19:21). When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesu said, “Sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me”.
 
 The word of God we read so far is a reminder to all of us that God expects everyone to share the possessions with the poor. If the poor do not find us or come to us, we should look for them and distribute a good amount of our possessions according to how much we have.  Giving to the poor is a saving for us in the eternal abode.  God will love us and forgive our sins.  God will protect us in times of trouble.  God will light our path when we fall in darkness.
Sirach 3:30 – “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.” 
 

Cicily Sunny