The earth shakes and cities fall, not by chance but by the permission of God, who speaks through such calamities to a slumbering world. You have asked how to respond to this cry for help from Venezuela, and I will tell you plainly. To give alms in a time of urgent need is a work of mercy, and Scripture commands us to remember the poor, especially those who are of the household of faith. The brothers in Jerusalem once sent relief to the afflicted in Judea, every man according to his ability, and that was counted as a sweet savor before God. Do not harden your heart, then, nor shut your hand, when you hear of mothers searching for children beneath the rubble, and men dying without a drop of water.
But be as wise as serpents, for not every appeal that names Christ has a pure heart. Look carefully at this letter you brought me. It mingles the suffering of thousands with a plea to support one man’s broadcast, and it makes a trade of your gift, quoting Proverbs as though you could lend to the Lord and demand high interest. God is not mocked, and He is not a merchant. Alms given for show or for promised gain are already paid in full, with no reward in heaven. The true widow’s mite is given in secret, expecting nothing back from men. When you give, let your left hand not know what your right hand does, and do not sound a trumpet before you, either with your own mouth or through the mouth of a preacher who seeks to enlarge his own platform.
These earthquakes, as it happens, are a call to repent more than a call to fundraise. When the tower fell in Siloam, our Lord did not first ask for a collection, but said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” The great earthquake at the resurrection was a sign of God’s power, rolling away the stone not so that Christ could escape, but so that witnesses might see He was already gone. Earthquakes today open graves and topple houses, and they warn that the end of all things is at hand; let them move you to examine your own foundation. Are you building on sand, storing treasures that moths and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal? Or is your hope built on the rock, which no tremor can overthrow?
Therefore, I do not forbid you to give. Give, and give generously. But do not give through this channel unless you know it well. It is better to send your money directly to trustworthy brothers who are on the ground, to those who risk their lives in the rubble without a camera, to churches of proven integrity that hand Christ’s love in bread and bandages, not in a television deal. For the apostles, when they had a door opened for them, labored with their own hands, and though Paul was anxious about the absence of Titus, he did not delay the gospel. So do not let the absence of a go-between hinder your charity. Act now, but act with care, lest your sacrifice become the wages of someone’s greed.
Pray without ceasing for the survivors and for those who dig among the fallen stones. Let your gift be a prayer with hands and feet. And let it be joined to a sincere turning from all sin, for the same earth that shakes under the weight of God’s wrath will one day be our bed until the last trumpet sounds. Do not put off the doing of good, for today is the accepted time, and tonight your soul may be required of you.