True Charity Prose: Pumpin' Plasma (with Added Commentary)

Moroni 7:6 - "... for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing."

I like going on dates!

I have a laughably small budget for dates.

Thankfully, I've been able to able to supplement my dating budget with money I've earned from selling stuff on eBay and all that, but even that extra source won't be enough to last me through the hard times of winter. So, I decided to join the mad craze sweeping Provo, travel to a certain clinic with two of my friends, and donate my life blood. For money!

Honestly, the entire thing seemed and still seems sketch to me. So many people freely and willingly give blood every year, and there I was, getting paper for squeezing plasma out of my veins to assist lab coats in making some sort of crazy medicine that helps people with some disease somewhere. A lot of the jargon went over my head, but in all the material I was required to read and watch beforehand, people kept smiling, sticking their thumbs up, and say, "You're helping out! You're saving lives! You're making a difference!"

I felt like such a cheat walking out of that place with cash in hand. The Pure Love of Christ it wasn't.

How noble and self-sacrificing can I really be for doing something I'm getting compensation for? Despite the repeated assurances I was probably the most charitable person in the world, I couldn't honestly say I was doing it for the afflicted. No, I was doing it for dates. I would have felt better about the whole experience if someone, at some point, had looked me in the eye and said, "We're paying you to give your plasma. You are gaining no points in heaven for this." Yes! I would have been no relieved! But no, playing everything off like it was a charity made me feel guilty.

My guilt was also relieved by said cash in hand.

In the end, I think my point is that I can certainly do a better job more actively seeking for ways to be charitable, even moreso than throwing in a few extra dollars into tithing or offerings. The plus side to donating plasma is, at least I'm going to have a semi-weekly reminder of ways I can improve my charity, because I'm never going to forget my first experience going there.

What are some of your triggers that remind you to be charitable? Comment in the section below!

I wrote a commentary about this post on July 30, 2015. Click here to read!