Waves of Responsibility

Today, as I sit here in the comfort of my nice little home in southern California, the disaster and suffering in the Indian Ocean seems very far away. The death toll from last week’s Tsunami has soared close to 140,000 and the devastation in some areas is horrific, but my own insulation from that part of the world, from those people, is almost as complete as the isolation of some of the remote locations shown on the news. At first, I was as shocked and amazed as everyone else. Eventually, however, I discovered that my callused heart was more interested in earthquake science and the history of other large tidal waves than the plight of those who were suffering so much at this very moment half a world away. I’ve watched the news to keep up on the death toll. I’ve prayed half-heartedly from time to time this week. I even gave a little money at church when they took and offering for disaster relief. Sadly, though, I have somehow found a way to avoid getting emotionally involved in the situation. Is that wrong, is there something wrong with me?
Today, however, the whole thing has finally started to sink in. I keep thinking about the verse where Jesus said, “but if you give so must a cup of water to the least of these, then you have done so to me.” The implication, of course, is that to deny those who need our help is essentially to turn our backs on Jesus personally. Ouch, that one really hurts, or at least it should. This begins to beg the moral question of what our obligations and responsibilities are to other people, even if we have never met them or ever hope to. What do I owe to others, to strangers, on the far side of the globe … and what right do they have to expect my assistance? From a strictly academic point of view the answer can be found in two additional passages from the New Testament. First of all, when asked about the greatest commandments, Jesus replied that after loving God whole-heartedly our highest obligation was to love others, more specifically, our “neighbors.” Then, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus clarified that our neighbors are those who are in need.
Now in about 30 A.D., when Jesus spoke these words, most folks lived within a fairly small circle of influence and, therefore, responsibility. However, here in the third millennium, things have changed a bit. Now that we are able to receive virtually instantaneous television transmissions from across the globe and have the ability to deliver disaster aid with jets and helicopters, it could well be argued that the term “neighbor” reaches far beyond the street where we live and quite possibly to the disaster ravished shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Certainly, for those of us who believe there to be one God who is omnipresent, then it can be argued safely that our responsibility to both Him and His commandments is omnipresent as well. The people suffering in southern Asia right now are, therefore, my neighbors. So it occurs to me that perhaps we don’t have the luxury of ignoring them. All the more if we simply apply the good old fashioned golden rule.
Consequently, I therefore propose that we do have some kind of obligation to those who are suffering right now. I’m not quite sure what to I’m going to do, but it certainly must be something. Prayer is a good place to start. A little more money wouldn’t do any harm. Perhaps my personal next step is simply to write some more articles like this one, as that falls within my giftedness. Certainly, we all need to do something … and the time to act is now.