So a friend of mine shared this picture on Facebook



And after I shared the picture someone commented "And you have to tell the world, why?"

Which got me thinking, do we need to share our charitable works on social media?

Here are two comments from the original post:

Against: And then i took pictures and posted it to Facebook so everyone can feed my ego by telling me what an awesome guy i am . It amazes me how humans love telling the world about all the great charitable work they are doing anonymously.

To which someone replied

For: or acting as a catalyst for other people to do similar things. Humans have herd mentality. Some people, instead of complaining about this kid will go out and do something nice. not all people clearly...but some.

I have noticed these mixed reactions severally whenever someone does good or donates to charity and posts it on social media.

So the question is, Should we post our charity and good deeds on social media?

Why OR why not?

PS: If you reside in PH you can listen to Elloy Johnny on rhythm 93.7 and contribute to the discussion too

Bot Lalasticlala, Mynd44 and Seun come and answer.

It is the motive that counts . If it's done to inspire others it's not bad at all .God will bless such a one more But it's done to receive the praise then the human praise will be all the reward

As long as someone who truly needs the help gets it I am fine with either of the two options.

base on the purpose or motive of doing it.....if it is to attract people who will also be doing same fine....if it is to make jealous of others ...then it is wrong because of the negative social effect on the victim...


let's say I win a scholarship to study abroad... I may post it online for people to celebrate with me and also help others to achieve the same success by posting the link or address.... I can even share the success story to motivate others

but if I post it online to make my friends I have grudges with jealous and feel sad like the one mostly used on Facebook with a tag like I have arrived ,haters go and hug transformer.....or so... I think is senseless and meaningless......

NO.

It might inspire other people to do likewise too

The answer to this question may seem to depend very much on motive, but I would argue otherwise. Although, motive, I concur, does play a role, but not for reasons you might think obvious. The OP has identified the two extremes of the motive spectrum, namely:

(1) Posting for show off, and
(2) Posting to encourage others to follow suit.

Of course, common sense may suggest that the former motive is a bad reason to post one's charitable act on social media, hence don't do it. End of discussion! But wait! I've never been much of a stickler for common sense. I see it as a thought terminating force that blinds us to the truth.

Now, having gotten common sense out of the way, it is important to establish what the truth is. Here's the thing; any act of charity always has a net positive effect on at least two people, irrespective of motive. It benefits the taker, obviously, but it also benefits the giver. In fact, research has shown that selflessness is an illusion. Even when there is no apparent gain, seemingly selfless acts do have biological benefits for the giver.

Charity for Show Off:
Okay, let us be clear, anybody who does acts of charity only so that their ego may be massaged by admirers suffers from some form of narcissistic personality disorder. Granted, such a persons is hopelessly dependent on praise from others to be happy, however, this person also believe the way to earn their ego trip fix is by doing something good for others. Now, the act of being recognised for their charity may be regarded as a form of positive reinforcement that ensures this giver feels inclined to repeat their act of charity, if only for an encore of the adulating chorus they so much seek. This way, both the giver and the takers are happier for it, and there is a net positive effect.

Charity to encourage others:
Here, the giver advertises their good deed to get other people to do the same. Obviously, this motive sells the maximum possible impact from a single person, so the benefit of this goes without saying. Taking this path though, requires a lot of class. Here the giver must deemphasise self, and make the act, the impact and the ease of execution the subject of their post. As you see, much effort must be expended in the method of communication; but from a utilitarian point of view, it is the most profitable.

I conclude that irrespective of motive, there can be nothing wrong with advertising one's charity on social media. However, some motives are more beneficial than others.

Final thoughts:
I would argue that most people who advertise their charities online fall somewhere between the extremities of the motive spectrum. Hardly anybody would claim they didn't feel good when they were praised for a charitable act, even if they had no direct intention to be praised. To this, I say happy giving!
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Edit: Just read the comments and noticed Kevoh beat me to my response. Here's a shoutout to your renegade mind fam!

AgentofAllah..... it seems you do not see it that wrong when advertise of success is place online to effect psychological damage on intended victim.......

vaxx:
AgentofAllah..... it seems you do not see it that wrong when advertise of success is place online to effect psychological damage on intended victim.......

Sorry, I don't get you. Who is the victim of advertised success?

AgentOfAllah:


Sorry, I don't get you. Who is the victim of advertised success?

let say the aim Is to show off to one of your friends on Facebook... you have a target in mind...and you know by placing the success online he could easily understand you are referring to him or her...

vaxx:
let say the aim Is to show off to one of your friends on Facebook... you have a target in mind...and you know by placing the success online he could easily understand you are referring to him or her...

But this isn't about showing off success, is about showing off charity work.
At any rate, anybody who is psychologically affected by showoffs has serious issues which is not the fault of the person showing off. I tend to ignore showoffs, unless paying them attention would be beneficial to society, as is the case with charity showoff. In that case, I pay them attention, not for their sake, but for the sake of those who might later benefit from their bloated ego. It's a utilitarian philosophy.
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Vaxx, I don't know your line of work, but judging from your previous posts, my educated guess is that you're a traditional diviner. So I'm guessing you have interacted with lots of people, and you've probably come across a lot of damaged people too. I don't know if you've noticed, but damaged people can seldom be fixed, so instead of painting a white and black world that excludes people that don't conform to our standards of what is good, we can as well bring out the best in every individual, even the damaged ones! This is what informs my approach vaxx. I don't claim that showoff is good, but I recognise that even showoff can be channelled towards desirable outcome.

AgentOfAllah:

But this isn't about showing off success, is about showing off charity work.
At any rate, anybody who is psychologically affected by showoffs has serious issues which is not the fault of the person showing off. I tend to ignore showoffs, unless paying them attention would be beneficial to society, as is the case with charity showoff. In that case, I pay them attention, not for their sake, but for the sake of those who might later benefit from their bloated ego. It's a utilitarian philosophy.

I get your stand....

AgentOfAllah:

But this isn't about showing off success, is about showing off charity work.
At any rate, anybody who is psychologically affected by showoffs has serious issues which is not the fault of the person showing off. I tend to ignore showoffs, unless paying them attention would be beneficial to society, as is the case with charity showoff. In that case, I pay them attention, not for their sake, but for the sake of those who might later benefit from their bloated ego. It's a utilitarian philosophy.
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Vaxx, I don't know your line of work, but judging from your previous posts, my educated guess is that you're a traditional diviner. So I'm guessing you have interacted with lots of people, and you've probably come across a lot of damaged people too. I don't know if you've noticed, but damaged people can seldom be fixed, so instead of painting a white and black world that excludes people that don't conform to our standards of what is good, we can as well bring out the best in every individual, even the damaged ones! This is what informs my approach vaxx. I don't claim that showoff is good, but I recognise that even showoff can be channelled towards desirable outcome.

Then I have serious issues because I hate show offs with a passion. Not the person but the act. It fills me rage.

If you are truly moved by the plight of people suffering, I do not think you will have the time to post of such acts, they will not be singular events, it would be common place in your life and as such not truly remarkable to you enough to warrant publicising.

The fact that such people consider their actions a big deal is why I feel it's a no-no. Altruism should be the norm.

AgentOfAllah:

But this isn't about showing off success, is about showing off charity work.
At any rate, anybody who is psychologically affected by showoffs has serious issues which is not the fault of the person showing off. I tend to ignore showoffs, unless paying them attention would be beneficial to society, as is the case with charity showoff. In that case, I pay them attention, not for their sake, but for the sake of those who might later benefit from their bloated ego. It's a utilitarian philosophy.
---------------
Vaxx, I don't know your line of work, but judging from your previous posts, my educated guess is that you're a traditional diviner. So I'm guessing you have interacted with lots of people, and you've probably come across a lot of damaged people too. I don't know if you've noticed, but damaged people can seldom be fixed, so instead of painting a white and black world that excludes people that don't conform to our standards of what is good, we can as well bring out the best in every individual, even the damaged ones! This is what informs my approach vaxx. I don't claim that showoff is good, but I recognise that even showoff can be channelled towards desirable outcome.

you guess right.
I welcome your opinion.... but the purpose of show off is what am attacking if it is to make others jealous and the negative consequence the person showing off may cause toward his or her target victim....

shaybebaby:

Then I have serious issues because I hate show offs with a passion. Not the person but the act. It fills me rage.

If you are truly moved by the plight of people suffering, I do not think you will have the time to post of such acts, they will not be singular events, it would be common place in your life and as such not truly remarkable to you enough to warrant publicising.

The fact that such people consider their actions a big deal is why I feel it's a no-no. Altruism should be the norm.

I don't have much love for showoffs either, but I feel passionate hate is far more emotional investment than they deserve. Personally, ignoring them is the most effective way to deal with them. People show off because they want attention, so deny them the very thing they crave, and you'd have countered their behaviour. If I would invest any emotion on them, it would be pity because I genuinely think it is personality disorder, a sickness like any other. Like I said, however, they are only worth my time if I feel their showoff can be of some good to society. If paying attention to their showoff makes a starving boy less hungry today than yesterday, I'd say the attention was worth it!

AgentOfAllah:


I don't have much love for showoffs either, but I feel passionate hate is far more emotional investment than they deserve. Personally, ignoring them is the most effective way to deal with them. People show off because they want attention, so deny them the very thing they crave, and you'd have countered their behaviour. If I would invest any emotion on them, it would be pity because I genuinely think it is personality disorder, a sickness like any other. Like I said, however, they are only worth my time if I feel their showoff can be of some good to society. If paying attention to their showoff makes a starving boy less hungry today than yesterday, I'd say the attention was worth it!

But often it's not. Those who genuinely need it are often lost and invisible.
If and when I do any acts of kindness, all I ask is that it is paid forward.

Hope you had a good weekend and took a break from your journals.

shaybebaby:

But often it's not. Those who genuinely need it are often lost and invisible.
If and when I do any acts of kindness, all I ask is that it is paid forward.

You are a balanced person. Sadly, not everybody shares your aptitude for kindness or is as psychologically stable as you are.

Hope you had a good weekend and took a break from your journals.

I did have a good weekend! I had nice break from everything. Albeit a short lived one

If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

Seun:
If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

Jesus can never be wrong.

Seun:
If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

Hello,
Jesus was not wrong when he said what was recorded at Matt 6:2. Letting everyone know what you are giving can be equated with eye service. Many people that show the world their generous acts maybe doing to snow how wealthy they are or so that they may gain favour from people. Remember God searches the heart (1 Chronicle 28:9) not what me and you see.

Jesus even goes further to explain how it should be done in verse 3. If you are Christian, it is best you don't reveal to the world your charitable acts. Since you are doing it for God. People might also be discouraged if they see you donating big when they have little.

Seun:
If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.” (Matt. 6:3, 4) Our hands usually work together. Therefore, not letting the left hand know what the right is doing means that we do not advertise our charitable deeds, even to those as close to us as our left hand is to our right hand.

 If we do not boast about our charity, our “gifts of mercy” will be in secret. Then our Father, “who is looking on in secret,” will repay us. Residing in the heavens and invisible to human eyes, our heavenly Father remains “in secret” as far as mankind is concerned. (John 1:18) Repayment from the one “looking on in secret” includes Jehovah’s bringing us into an intimate relationship with him, forgiving our sins, and granting us eternal life. (Prov. 3:32; John 17:3; Eph. 1:7) That is so much better than receiving praise from humans!

And Lastly Jesus did not contradict himself in Matt 5:16, " Likewise let your light shine before men,” he told them, “that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens.” 

He did not say we should MAKE SURE MEN KNOW our fine works. While Christians do not perform fine works to be praised by men, their good conduct does not go unnoticed. Our ultimate goal is to please God whether in secret or in public.

I hope I have clarified you sir?

cc: Seun

Seun:
If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

Has this bros given his life to Jesus ni, this one you are quoting Bible.

This was what Jesus meant in Matthew 6:1-4
. He urges you and me to give with pure motives that please God. He begins in 6:1 with a principle that introduces and summarizes 6:1–18. Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” The word beware always warns of danger ahead, like a bridge being out of order or a road being under water.To refuse to obey such a sign is both foolish and dangerous. Here, Jesus warns you to beware of seeking to impress people. He doesn’t say that you can’t be impressive. Many Christians are impressive people. Jesus is not opposed to public righteousness that is an act of worship. We are commanded to be “salt” and “light” ( Matthew 5:13–16). Jesus’ primary concern is with your motives. God looks at the heart (motive) before the hand (action)! If your motives are to hear people “ooh and ah” over your righteousness, you have your reward…but it is on earth, NOT in heaven. Jesus’ words are absolute. He is saying, “Anyone who does a good deed so as to be seen and appreciated by others will lose his or her reward, no matter how ‘good’ and beneficial the deed is. There are absolutely no exceptions!” It is imperative, therefore, that you do the right thing in the right way.
After laying down the overarching principle, in Matthew 6:2–4, Jesus focuses on the topic of financial giving. He says in 6:2: “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocritesdo in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Jesus says “when” you give. The word “when” is a key word throughout this entire passage. Jesus does not say “if” but “when.” He assumes that His disciples will give…including you! This means giving is not optional. The question that Jesus is addressing in this verse and in this entire passage is not “when” but “why.” Why do you do what you do? It is important to see that Jesus does not forbid public giving, but He doesn’t want you to “sound a trumpet.” This is a figurative phrase from which we get our expression “toot your own horn. In other words, do not give for the purpose of being “honored” by people. Don’t give so that your name will be inscribed on a building, on a plaque, on a brick, or in a list of donors for all to see. If you do, that will be your reward. When you seek to impress people you are not giving but buying, and you get what you paid for. End of story. This is equally true when you seek to impress people instead of God. You are paid in full with no hope of any future reward.
In summary, It's the motive behind it that matters. It's not a must you involve the social media as it's optional.
Don't forget it's the same social media people use to seek for financial assistant too,would you say it's a sin to use it to seek help when the need arise? And when the need is meant instantly would you say it's a sin? Please have this at the back of your mind

Seun:
If you broadcast your generous deeds, (1) you will be praised by people, which is very good for you, and
(2) other people will be inspired to engage in similar generous deeds, which is very good for people in need.

So everybody wins. This makes it a no-brainer.
Jesus was wrong (Matt 6:2), although he also contradicted himself (Matt 5:16).

Oga seun, the two passages are different, matt5:16 talks about the blessings of God on somebody life, while matt6:2 is talking about charity so, the passages are different.