Christian Beggars...

I was reading a post on the Sonlighter Club Forums the other day about a mom complaining about all the extra fees she was being charged by a church who ran the mother's day out program her child was in. It actually was incredible. In addition to the monthly tuition:

• $125 activities fee
• Miscellaneous supplies such as: Kleenex, hand wipes,water colors,crayons, etc
• She needed to provide snacks once every two months
  
• Two boxes of vanilla wafers
• She had to pay $10.00 to have a Thanksgiving feast with her child--and I use the term feast loosely--it was 2 chicken strips. some macaroni and cheese and a roll.
• And I can't remember what else, but I am sure I forgot something

But, what put her over the edge was the basis of my blog today-They want every parent to contact 10-20 local restaurants to ask them to donate gift cards so they can make a "restaurant basket" to raffle. There are 14 kids in the class, and the school will give them a list of who they are supposed to contact to avoid duplications. That means 140-280 restaurants will be hit up for free gift cards to help support a Christian Mother's Day out program!!!

This is just so wrong! Christians out begging the secular world to support us! This is a huge issue for me. Why should a local merchant, who is just trying to survive in this economy, fund a mother's day out? I mean, the very idea of presumably Christian organizations saying--"Hey, our God cannot provide for our needs, can you give us some of your hard earned money?" makes me want to scream.

I see this all the time--and it isn't just Christian organizations, either. I know a lady that has a small one-woman shop. She is not getting rich at all and works hard and long to make a go of her little shop. She gets people in there all the time--from other towns as well as the town the shop is in--asking her to donate all kinds of stuff. I mean, if they are so committed to the cause, why don't they buy the thing and donate it themselves? Why should she donate to causes and organizations she doen't have any relationship or commitment to?

I know a lot of churches and organizations do it, but I think it is wrong and presumptuous. No wonder the world thinks Christians are a joke. We should be giving the merchants something out of our love and/or bounty--not begging for them to support us. This type of begging ruins our witness in our communities and in the world in general.

Take care,
Jill