ANSWERS: 9
  • Well, my dear Payton, that depends on your point of view. If you are nothing but a carbon based life form in a randomly organized universe, that would be perfectly true. But if there is a God and a Creator, that is patently false. Even from a secular point of view, no man is an island and we all need each other. If God created, then everything you have and everything you are was created by Him. If you have a talent or skill, He gave it to you. If you have a resource, He created it and allowed you to have it as a gift or a payment for you using the skill or talent He gave you. He doesn't put strings on that. He doesn't want you to give back to Him of what He gave you by force or even out of duty. He wants you to look at what you have, and as a child will sometimes do, say "Thanks Dad, I really appreciate what you gave me. Will you sit down and have some with me?" He doesn't want you to give everything. He doesn't want you to give out of duty. He wants you to give cheerfully out of love and trust that He will continue to provide for you tomorrow. If you look at it from a purely secular view, the same thing can still apply. You never exist in a vacuum. In order for you to have a healthy body to do that work with, your parents and many doctors, nurses, farmers, supermarket employees, restaurant workers, etc. put a lot of hard work into getting it that way. You may have paid for some of it, but they still labored to give you a healthy body to work with. In order for you to have a mind to direct that body, your parents and many teachers put a lot of labor and thought into training you. When you give back to your community, those same people who helped you may very well be the beneficiaries. Or it could be their children, their parents or their friends that benefit from your effort and kindness. Either way, you are going to reap the benefit of having good character instead of fulfilling selfish desires.
  • I hate when people say that bulls#it! Don't the community get enough in the taxes I pay and junk that I buy?
  • I really hate that saying...although I agree with the sentiment that it is good to help others who you may not even know.
  • You don't "have" to do anything. Perhaps when you have grown a little more, you may freely choose to give; at that point it will be something which brings happiness and a general, good feeling to you.
  • It isn't about what material things you possess P. It is about the talents/skills/tools that are intangibles which are valuable and valued. It is your knowledge, your ability that you pass on to others, not your 'stuff'. There is a joy in sharing what you know with someone who can use the skill. There is a feeling of absolute accomplishment (better than a paycheck) of giving someone the tools that they will need to navigate some portion of life. It is these actions which validate what we have done in our lives.
  • I don't know why they say it to you. . I would be more than happy to teach the people in my neighborhood how to get up and go to work. So they can earn their own way. To be honest most of the people on welfare in my neighborhood live better off than I do! Maybe they should teach me how to rip off the welfare system! . Would that be giving back to the community?
  • This will either sound like me or not I used to care for such things but all it got me was used up, now I don't give anything to the community since they take in the form of taxes.
  • Because the society that you enjoy, didn't pop out of existence fully formed. Many folks have died to insure that the society you enjoy continue. Now it's your choice to give some measure of sacrifice back to the community/society, or be an ingrate. This Veteran would remind you: Freedom isn't Free.
  • Because in isolation you wouldn't have been able to work and have anything of your own. Without the the community as a framework, your work wouldn't have been so rewarding nor could you have enjoyed the fruits of your labor to the fullest extent. It is the community that provides you with the wall over which you do your painting. Only when the community is robust there will be any meaning in your working for anything. To ensure your continued enjoyment of everything you have, you need to keep the community stable and robust. This you can do only by contributing to the community by giving back a portion of what you earned by provsion of the right atmosphere by the community. Think about it, Payton.

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