Four of us got together for rooftop golf at Iron City Trykes. That evening, we each agreed to put up a hundred dollars. Four hundred dollars between us.
Then the bidding stopped at $300.
We could have taken the winning bid and called it a night. But we’d already said out loud what we were willing to give. The auction had settled the price. We still had a choice about that last hundred dollars.
By the time it came to settle up, life circumstances had made it hard for me to cover my share. Iron City Trykes still received the full $400. I’m grateful that the group’s commitment held when I was having trouble keeping my part of it.
That’s what I think of when I say four divided by three. Do it in whole numbers and there’s one left over. On the rooftop, the remainder was a hundred dollars we could have kept. Later, I was the one who came up short. I’ve thought about both sides of that arithmetic since.
Maybe that’s the golden rule of charity. When you have room to give a little more, remember what it feels like to be the person who needs a little grace.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2 (KJV)
