Last month, we ran a poll on our Facebook page asking this question: Have you and your family ever forgone Christmas gifts for each other and, instead, directed those monies toward charitable activities? Fifty-six percent of respondents answered no.
Montana has enacted steep spending cuts. Deep federal spending cuts are likely coming in 2018. While we laud great restraint in the use of taxpayer funds, this is also a call to action for each of us. If we demand that government quash its rapacious appetite for spending, then we as limited government conservatives must be willing to shore up the deficiencies that will undoubtedly remain.
We can give charitably through private, non-profit organizations that assist with the basics like food, clothing, medical care, and housing. But what about giving a bit more? Is adopting a single-parent family and helping to pay for the children’s music lessons an option? Could provision be made for the upkeep of an elderly neighbor’s yard? Would paying for someone’s vehicle maintenance so they can drive to a job every day be within reach? Should effort be made to assist a family with household repairs to ensure their safety?
When we forsake that which we don’t need, in order to supply others with something of necessity, that’s called sacrificial giving. The question is not whether we have the capacity for this, the question is whether or not we have the willingness.
In October, Cliff Maloney Jr., national president of Young Americans for Liberty, tweeted: “We have a moral obligation to help those around us. Not through government or force. Through love and true compassion. Let’s act like it.”
Indeed, Cliff. Let’s act like it. Let’s make 2018 the year we replace the cold hand of government with the warm heart of neighborly benevolence and generosity.
Edna Kent, chairman
Montanans for Limited Government
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