Giving alms is a deadly sin, because it serves as a cover-up.
The church declares it as a pivotal virtue, but the church is deliberately wrong, as usual, not only in this case, but practically in everything. In this particular case and also in general, giving alms helps maintain the status quo of the establishment, where the poor stays dead poor, and the rich gets always richer, systematically. Giving alms serves as a fige leaf covering the abomination, called greed by any means.
Paradoxically, alms giving looks good as a gift from Heaven, as an exercised virtue of the righteous, as it can work as a temporary plaster over a chronic wound, a very much needed urgent bandaid. However, it is still and rather a clever tool of shaking off the responsibility to change the system, a shameless, political tool of avoiding civil war and revolution, avoiding forced sharing of the resources and the very redistribution of the wealth.
It is not obvious for some, but the Jerusalem congregation, till the Jewish temple stood, was not a Christian assembly. They were all observing Jews, including Jesus and his brothers.
They were sectarian, Nasarene Jews, but Jews. In their community all their possessions were held in common, just like in the Qumran settlement, thus they completely eradicated poverty and there were no poor among them.
That was supposed to be Christianity, but it was not. They were Jews.
Christianity was born in Antiochia of Syria, among the Greek speaking gentiles, where slavery raged, and their father in faith, the Apostate Paul advised the slaves that “Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ; ” Ephesians:6:5
Christianity was always the part of the problem and not the solution. At least since the Roman Empire had nationalized the church, in 323 CE, Christianity always supported the oppressing and inhuman status quo of the establishment in exchange for the received privileges, often also tax exemption, as a multibillion dollar, intercontinental corporation.
Christianity was never really interested in economic justice, not even in mere fairness, neither in the redistribution of wealth, being itself a wealth collector. Alms giving, a few shelters here and there, soup kitchens, crocodile tears serve as self-promotion. Calculated PR.
The marble cathedrals and the universal clerical greed were total the opposite of the practice of the Jesus following congregation in Jerusalem. They held all possessions as the common property of all in the community, and they also shared the food and all of their resources.
If the Christian leadership does not even try to live upto the ideals of the assumed principles of the faith, they are deliberate hipocrates, and whatever they preach is fake.
Giving alms is not only counterproductive, but it defies God, when the Bible strictly commands us, that there shall be no poor among you. Not even one.
VERSUS PAUL 