I recently received a desperate plea from the Salvation Army to contribute to them. I liked the quote from William Booth, the founder:

You cannot warm the hearts of people with God’s love if they have an empty stomach or cold feet

I find it embarrassing to admit that Christian giving trails off during hard economic times. I understand a family’s need may increase but organizations like the Salvation Army’s needs increase even more dramatically. In the financial world there is the mantra that you must keep contributing to your 401K even during market downturns and boy have we are having a downturn! Well, there should be a Christian mantra that during hard economic times you must keep contributing to help the least of these. It would be far better if we Christians drive our old cars a little longer, skip eating out once in a while, eat hamburger instead of steak, in order to not only keep up our Christian giving but to actually increase it during these times. Find a soup kitchen or homeless shelter in your area and give them a few bucks. While your are at it slip a few dollars into an envelope for the Salvation Army. And remember that the money you give to support a homeless person is actually going to Jesus. For as he said “What you do for the least of these you do for Me”