I have long held that that whereas dogs teach us about the nature of God ” cats teach us about the nature of evil.

You may surmise from that opinion that I am a born cat-hater. You would be correct.

However” 12 years ago God in His infinite humor ” decided that I must become a cat-lover.

Not of all cats” just one. So far ” that seems to be as many as the Lord feels I can handle. Said cat is named Lickity-Split (as will be explained presently).

Twelve years ago I was out for a pre-dawn walk. A tiny black kitten began following me. I turned and shooed it away. I went on. She continued to follow. We played this game for 100 yards or more. At which point I told her” “Fine ” go ahead and get lost. I don’t care!”

Fifteen minutes and half as many blocks later she was still following. So now I was thrust into that situation everyone hates” the one where life suddenly confronts you with the Philanthropical Imperative: “Okay Bill ” here’s a need. What are you going to do about it?”

Disgusted” ” I picked up the animal and carried it home.

My daughters put up signs for blocks and blocks around our house (I made sure of that). No one claimed the kitten. Imagine that!

Knowing in my heart I was doing the wrong thing” ” I fed the kitten.

Which is how I learned my first lesson in philanthropy: whatever you feed (or otherwise resource) will stick around.

Lickity has outlasted three daughters” three dogs and two other cats. Today while my wife. Lynn. and I inhabit an otherwise empty nest ” Lickity remains right at home. Safe. Secure. Happily fed. She’s definitely part of the family.

That’s NOT how philanthropy is supposed to be! (On this point” ” see Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton on how good intentions so often create dependency rather than dignity and self-sufficiency).

The other lesson has to do with Lickity’s name.

After she arrived” ” we always wondered why the tip of her tail was perennially wet. We never could figure it out. Then one day I found her curled up on my daughter’s bed—and I heard a sucking sound.

Yes” ” the kitten was sucking her tail! Just like a baby sucks its thumb.

Great! Turns out the kitten had/has abandonment issues” so the vet said. Sucking her tail is her way of comforting calming and reassuring herself. For that reason ” we named her Lickity-Split (she’s also very fast).

For 12 years I have observed this odd licking behavior. My theological conclusion: to every creature God has given something by way of natural provision for what it needs. Something no one else can or should provide.

When Lickity lost her mother” she lost three things: protection food ” and a mother’s touch. God sent her my way to supply the first two. God gave her a tail to make up for the last one.

When it comes to human beings” God’s provision always involves their giftedness—their unique core strengths and motivation. Every person no matter how compromised has their own unique giftedness. Every community no matter how impoverished ” has a collection people who each bear unbelievably potent gifts.

So if I want to give people and communities dignity and self-sufficiency” my job is to help them discover celebrate ” and use their individual and collective giftedness.

I suppose there is a third lesson about philanthropy (or in my case” “felinthropy”) I have learned through Lickity: be careful about where and to whom you give ” because you’re liable to fall in love with the recipient of your generosity.

I never saw that coming. Me being a lifelong” card-carrying cat-hater I could just as easily have kicked the little black kitten away that morning and been done with it. Instead I made the mistake of showing it a little kindness. That’s all she needed. Slowly but surely Lickity wormed her way into my affections ” such that now I’m starting to wonder how I’ll ever manage when the day inevitably comes that the Lord calls her to her reward. I know I will feel an enormous loss.

C.S. Lewis was right: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one” ” not even an animal” (italics added).

Bill Hendricks is President of The Giftedness Center in Dallas” Texas. You can read more about him and by him at his blog BillHendricks.net.