But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Perhaps one of my favorite passages in the Bible is the study on love. It's an important passage to remember, given that was the directive of Jesus to love each other as we love ourselves.
That gets lost a lot when people are more focused with self than others, and you see that demonstrated in living color when a catastrophe hits like the one that did in Haiti.
It's almost inconceivable to grasp the depth of the suffering, the loss of life and the scope of the devastation. Most people were inspired to do something - anything - to help alleviate the suffering in whatever way they can.
But there are a few coarse souls in this world who don't have one iota of compassion simply because it happened to a distant "them", a group of people so very different than those they deem deserving of such an emotion. Some seek personal gain out of it, such as the likes of Pat Robertson or Rush Limbaugh - who have taken this catastrophe and turned it into nothing more than soundbites to further their own self serving causes, which could not be more reprehensible.
Then there are those who aren't content with just their own particular brand of misery without spreading it around. Instead of doing anything productive, they instead choose to criticize the efforts of other people who use their scope of influence not to mock/blame/polarize... but to motivate others to help.
I ran into one such troll today.
Someone who has considerable influence decided to post a link for a charity that she supports (as do I), to encourage others to give so that we can help in any small way those folks in Haiti who have lost everything.
Most people responded well, but this one voice of dissent came to join the discussion and took issue with the fact so many people were sending aid overseas to another country. He pointed out that there were plenty of folks here in this country that could use our help - which is a point I will not argue.
My only question was ... why does it have to be one or the other?
As I said in the thread, human charity is a remarkably renewable resource. You can give to causes that are overseas and to those causes that are either local or domestic.
I know, because I do it.
I can support things like charity: water as well as St. Jude's, there is no charity quota that I need to fill that suggests okay I've given my share to charity... I'm done.
As long as there is need, we'll never be done.
Even charities who are committed to a specific cause have opened up their hearts to the tragedy in Haiti. That doesn't mean they'll stop fighting for their specific causes, it just means that need is so great the response must be even greater.
I can give money to the Red Cross to give help after the devastation of 9/11 just the same as I can give money to help after a tsunami strikes Indonesia. To suggest otherwise of a complete stranger is not only insulting, it's completely ignorant.
This person's argument is a fallacy. It supposes quite erroneously that because Person A chooses to give overseas that they forsake any domestic charity, as if those two go hand in hand - and they generally don't.
It also supposes that because Person B opts not to give to charity that isn't domestic, that they are charitable in the first place.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
In fact, an argument could be made that if you don't have the depth of compassion to look at what's happening in Haiti and feel compelled to share some of your good fortune with some of the poorest and hardest hit people in the world, then how can we be sure you won't pass a homeless person - compartmentalizing your own pity with how much that person might deserve his or her plight?
Which brings us back to that Biblical scripture:
13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Why is love so important? Why is loving our brother as we love ourselves the cornerstone to the Christian faith, and indeed one of the two greatest commandments?
I believe Mother Teresa had it right. "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
If we did remember that we - as a human race - have something at stake by the well being of the other, that the struggles of our poorest are the struggles for us all... then we would never - EVER - belittle the attempts of anyone to coordinate charity for anyone struck by such overwhelming catastrophe. A catastrophe, one should mention, that should make anyone not affected that much more aware there but for the grace of God go all of us.
If we had that type of empathy, we would not turn on one another with this nasty sense of unearned moral superiority that makes a mockery out of the compassion of one human being toward another because we know that only through that compassion can we heal the wounds and ease the suffering.
We would remember what we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus himself.
Jesus did not make conditional his charity or his mercy or his compassion.
If we truly believe in charity, then, neither should we.
Should we spend our time and energy to help out those within our borders? Absolutely. And there are plenty of charities you can go to who would appreciate your time or your money, even in your own town. It doesn't (and shouldn't) take a tragedy to do it either.
Need is there every day - all over the world - as well as the ability to meet that need. There's something each one of us can do, no matter how limited our resources. There is always something you can give... even if it's just your understanding.
When my first husband Dan and I hit the lowest economic crisis of our lives together and were homeless in Los Angeles, he had such a heart for those who suffered similar fates he'd give his last thin dime to someone if they asked - even if he didn't know where his next dollar would come from.
He taught me very young the desire to give is either there... or it's not.
And it's not exhaustible. We live in a reciprocal universe. What you send out in this world is what you get back. Despite - or I'd even argue because of - his charity, Dan and I were able to rise out of those circumstances and never sink that low again.
And we never - EVER - forgot. So the needs of those less fortunate than we were became our concern.
So if you turn your back on another person because of where they happen to live, you demonstrate you are also the type of person who puts conditions on charity - which is no charity at all.
Instead of mocking the people who are motivated to make a difference, to lend a hand no matter how big or small, go find that local charity you supposedly find so much more important and learn the true meaning of the word by doing instead of criticizing.
Maybe then you'll be starting your own thread of mercy and charity rather than dump all over the efforts of another.
For those who do want to help, here are some links of organizations that help both at home AND where needed:
The Red Cross
The Salvation Army
Save the Children
AmeriCares
Operation USA
Feel free to add other charities in the comment section. Remember we're in this together. And there is no action too small. And it doesn't take a catastrophe to meet any need.
Don't wait for a tragedy to reach out and make a difference.
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