It Is For a Good Cause
“It is for a good cause.”
How many times have you heard those words? How many different kinds of activities have been promoted and justified with that statement?
Sometimes it takes something totally absurd to make us stop and think about our actions. I remember such an absurd thing I read in a newspaper years ago.
There was an advertisement for an event that was for what probably was a very good cause. The ad said that the proceeds from the event would go to a specific charity: Dads Against Drugs.
I am a dad. In fact I am a granddad. I am also against drugs.
However, I chose not to participate in this fundraiser that was “for a good cause.”
The event being promoted was a topless car wash. (The pictures in the paper made it pretty clear that the fundraiser had nothing to do with washing convertible automobiles, either.)
I would hope that all of us can see the absurdity of “helping a good cause” in this way. I would also hope that this extreme example might cause some of us to think about other things that have gradually gained acceptance over the years.
For example; a favorite fund-raising activity for some organizations is a raffle. My dictionary defines raffle as, “A lottery in which a number of persons buy chances on a prize.” There is another word in that same dictionary that has a very similar definition. The definition is “to play a game of chance for money or other stakes.” The word being defined here is gamble.
There are many other examples of similar activities and “reasoning.” I won’t get on my soapbox and discuss all of them here.
However, I will make one suggestion. If you are involved in some club, organization, cause, etc. that you think is worthy of my being asked for financial support, why not just ask me to make a donation?
It might surprise some people to learn how many generous people there are in the world. It might also come as a surprise that the direct approach often works better than gimmicks.
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One Comment
Ron Ryan
Great article, Jim. Years ago my oldest daughter brought home raffle tickets from elementary school to raise money for something. I had determined never to gamble. I am sure it was somewhat embarrassing for her but I returned the tickets in person to the school the next morning. I tried to be nice and pleasant but explained that I viewed raffles as a form of gambling.
A few years late my dad, who was mayor of our small town, along with the town counsel got rid of raffles at the annual Fall Festival at the school (grades 1-12). The town agreed to give to the school an amount of money equivalent to what was normally raised by raffles if the raffles were terminated. The school got rid of the raffles and the town was an annual donor to the school. This was not an altogether popular decision but it was a good decision based on Christian principles.
There is virtually no teaching in many churches on the nature of what gambling can do to an individual and his/her family. State lotteries are no different than raffles. Casinos, horse tracks, slot machines, roulette wheels, and various games of chance with money at stake, are all risky for a number of reasons–addiction and financial ruin to name two.
Maybe I am just “preaching to the choir” but there are now very few in the pews.