In Need of Aid 02: My Own Indifference and Apathy

Notes to myself while reading (specifically from p. 130 of the book “Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty” by Thurow and Kilman)…

𝑨𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺 𝒊𝒔 𝑪𝑹𝑼𝑪𝑰𝑨𝑳… most people, myself included, really have no clue as to how much of the world lives out their existence on a daily basis. I know I don’t. I forget that the comfort and convenience that is so common in my life is the exception for much of the world. However, while “awareness” seems reasonably actionable (e.g., I spent 90+ minutes watching “The End of Poverty?”), the more troubling challenge is that of “𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬.” Not knowing is one thing. But knowing and not caring is a uniquely different problem. 𝑯𝑶𝑾 𝑫𝑶 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬 𝑷𝑬𝑶𝑷𝑳𝑬 𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑬?

I guess the first place to start is with a long, honest look in the mirror. How do I make myself care more, how do I combat my own indifference and apathy, when the pull towards a lack of concern and sympathy can be so strong at times? To be fair, it is not exclusively a lack of compassion per se as much as it is one of distraction, I think. Time, like anything else in life, is a scarce commodity. It can be consumed so quickly by the press of life. The “discretionary” time that is left becomes increasingly valuable and before I realize it, I have spent what little I have left on the temporal and ephemeral. Hours become days, weeks, months, and years that are simply thrown away. Personal disconnect and a lack of community further compound and exacerbate the struggle. Soon my circle of concern is reduced exclusively to those with whom I share a sense of strong affection. Certainly, nothing wrong with that sense of familial love, but 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 “𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵” 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦? And how do I persuade others to do the same in their own?

Part of that answer for me is found in a quote from Winston Churchill, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”

Too often we see only ourselves. Our problems. Our needs. Our wants. (I know I am oftentimes guilty of seeing only myself and forgetting about others.) Transfixed by our own reflection, we fail to see the larger image. We forget we all are part of a greater whole. Part of a family. Part of a community. Part of a world. Part of a Kingdom. Specifically, part of God’s Kingdom. We desperately need to open our eyes and see beyond ourselves. Created in His image and destined according to His purposes, we are all responsible to the world around us, to those around us. If we would once again be great, we must also be responsible.

Now, it is beyond time for me to stop looking in the mirror and get to it. There is a world around me that is waiting.