In one sense, you'd hope that anyone, Christian or not, would compassionately seek to help the needy - and we're glad so many do. But Christians have a special reason for doing so. In a word, it's Jesus.

When seeking financial support for poor Christians in Jerusalem, the apostle Paul motivated fellow believers by reminding them of Jesus' example with these words: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Cor 8:9, NIV).

He didn't mean that Jesus came to make us wealthy, as some have said, but that if Jesus gave up the riches of heaven to die for us, we who have thus received God's generous forgiveness should use our material possessions to help others. Not to be generous is to head in the opposite direction to Jesus' grace.

You can learn more about Christian attitudes to giving by reading the whole account in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9.