I haven’t subscribed to much around Christianity for years, but one of the things that resonates strongly with my moral compass is this passage from Luke:
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Luke 12:48
In my life I have been fortunate beyond comprehension: my parents paid for my college education, I work in a highly-paid industry in which I excel, and I love what I do. In short: I have been given much. I feel I’m failing on the helping others side of things.
Digital Ramblings 
What to do?
Here’s a problem I run into with such passages:
Where and to whom do I give?
Last week, my company had a giveaway. I walked into HEB with $300 in hand. My team and I got to choose people… and pay their bills. If someone way paying their gas bill, we could pay for it for them. If someone way buying groceries, we could pick up the tab. Completely our choice. Upon trying to complete said task, we immediately ran into two problems:
1. Who do we help? How do we identify them? (This one was not too difficult.)
2. After we picked people to help, others became aware of the fact and IMMEDIATELY started begging for similar handouts. We only had so much to give. Even if I could have paid for 5 people, there would have been 10 more asking.
Because of problems like these, I know my own giving usually follows a simple pattern — I give when people I love ask me to give. If someone I care about is asking me to donate to a cause, and I know the cause is not trying to harm me (people asking me to donate to Focus on the Family get an evil glare), then I donate. I know enough people now asking me to donate to various things that I feel like I don’t even have to try to give any more.
If you don’t have such an outlet, I’d recommend donating to or setting up some kind of scholarship fund. You seem to think that having your education paid for was valuable, so you can give back in that avenue.
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What he said…
And you do this already, Casey. At least you did for Manbites Dog Theater. :-)
I do this, too. For instance, the kids currently in the program from which I received my Tech Comm Master’s degree are putting on a communications unconference in November, and I was just at a planning meeting with them where the students and the organizing committee were lamenting over desperately needing sponsors, both for cash to provide refreshments during the event and for door prizes.
While they were brainstorming, I logged into amazon.com, and when there was a break in the action, I said, “I’m going to sponsor at the Gold Level (which is a $100 cash donation), and I just ordered a Kindle Fire ($69, of which I paid $44 of with a credit in my account) to give away as a door prize.
Their reaction was priceless. :-)
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