So, there's this thing going around. Unless you're the loom-smashingest of Luddites and abstain from all forms of technology, you've definitely seen the Ice Bucket Challenge. The original idea was to capitalize on the schoolyard-style dare system, where you challenge someone else to either donate $100 to ALS research or take a large bucket of ice water directly to the dome. Since it appears that no one has turned down the bucket, the system has morphed into a "do the challenge and donate some amount anyway" rather than the straight cash-or-dare mentality, and it's estimated that by the time it's all said and done around $20 million dollars will have been raised for ALS research.
I like the donating. I like the way the viral nature of the internet has spread the idea to all corners of the world, drawing in donations from places and people who would likely never have otherwise given. I just don't necessarily like the methodology that had to get us here, because in the end, it's still all about the person doing the giving, not the person being given to.
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4, NIV)
Long story short, the Ice Bucket Challenge bothers me. I realize that morality and righteousness don't depend on my misgivings and opinions, but I don't see this sort of attitude given much credence in scripture. In fact, Christ rather explicitly says that making a spectacle of good deeds robs them of worth. Maybe not in temporal terms, but at least some on an eternal level, and that's really the point. I love the giving, I just hate spectacle. Yes, I'm a cynic, and a killjoy, and probably whatever else you'd like to throw into the bin, but there really is no place for spectacle in faith. I distrust spectacle, emotionalism, and persuasive pathos in basically all of its forms, but doubly so when couched in the context of virtue or spiritualism. So let's be honest here, verse 2 could very, very easily be rewritten in a modern context to say:
"So when you give to the needy, do
not announce it, as the hypocrites do on Twitter and on Facebook and on Instagram, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward in full."
There's something wrong with the way that we as a culture and a race have been forced to shoehorn such a positive, altruistic act towards the needy into a me-centric culture that needs to be recognized for every little thing. Yes, people are giving, and that's awesome. But how often is this just an easy way to feel good for not changing your behavior (in that it's just another thing to post online and be noticed for)? How much does that apply to people you know? Would those same people have donated if someone had just challenged them to donate and walked away, never to know the results? Would you have done so? Judge your own conscience for yourself—I certainly don't have the resources nor the authority to try—but be very honest with yourself about this. If you feel that your motives and actions are pure, then so much the better. I would caution, though, our culture tells us that everything we do needs to be about us on some level, and I have a bit of a feeling that Christ would not have been seen online with a bucket over his head calling out people to match his donations.
