Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.

Feel deeply, give what you can

Most of us want to help, but we get tangled up in guilt about not doing enough. Washington's advice cuts through that by separating two things we often confuse: feeling compassion and actually giving. You can have a full heart for someone's suffering without bankrupting yourself. That's not coldness—it's honesty about how change actually works.

The practical wisdom here is that sustainable help requires knowing your own limits. If you give beyond what you can reasonably afford, you become resentful, or worse, you can't help the next person who needs you. The person who gives consistently within their means often does more good over a lifetime than the person who makes one grand gesture and burns out. It's less romantic than total sacrifice, but it's how real communities actually function.

There's also something refreshing about the permission this gives us. We live in an age of infinite information about suffering everywhere, and the pressure to care equally about everything can paralyze us into doing nothing. Washington's suggestion is that proportional giving—whether that's money, time, or attention—is not just acceptable, it's wise. Start where you are, with what you have. That's enough.