Marsha's Musings: Pure Religion

I was reading James 1 today and came across verse 27.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Here is what Adam Clark's Commentary says about this verse:

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction] Works of charity and mercy are the proper fruits of religion; and none are more especially the objects of charity and mercy than the orphans and widows. False religion may perform acts of mercy and charity; but its motives not being pure, and its principle being defiled, the flesh, self, and hypocrisy, spot the man, and spot his acts. True religion does not merely give something for the relief of the distressed, but it visits them, it takes the oversight of them, it takes them under its care; so episkeptesyai means. It goes to their houses, and speaks to their hearts; it relieves their wants, sympathizes with them in their distresses, instructs them in Divine things and recommends them to God. And all this it does for the Lord's sake. This is the religion of Christ. The religion that does not prove itself by works of charity and mercy is not of God. Reader, what religion hast thou? Has thine ever led thee to cellars, garrets, cottages, and houses, to find out the distressed? Hast thou ever fed, clothed, and visited a destitute representative of Christ?

I don't know about you, but this hits home with me. I give through compassion and I throw some change in the Salvation Army bell ringers pot at Christmas. I donate clothes to the Good Will and St. Vincent de Paul, but do I actually go and find those in need and minister to their needs and hearts? It's so much easier to send money or donate clothes or food to the second hand store or food banks than it is to give of myself and my time to meet their needs. This is convicting stuff for me.