I went to a hospital today. A friend of a friend has been under therapy for months due to a severe spinal cord injury. A few of us from Church went to visit and pray with her. As I walked towards her room, I could hear singing. A beautiful harmony. I entered and immediately sensed a heavy sadness. The Nigerian lady on the bed was singing the loudest, "He loves me and I know not why..."
Tears streaming down her face, she held on to promises spoken centuries ago. I had to fight hard to hold back my tears. It's difficult to watch people suffer. It reminded me of Joe in Great Expectations, "Need we be ashamed of our tears, for they are the very rain on the dust of the earth."
Perhaps we don't particularly enjoy visiting hospitals, orphanages, HIV affected patients, lepers and homes for the aged because of the reality of these places. Our bubbles of selfish desire can only accomodate reality in short doses.
Apathy is rampant in our culture. We turn a blind eye to injustice, sometimes ignoring the under-privileged. I'm not suggesting an action plan to eradicate poverty or better results through organized social work. It starts with a mental shift. An attitude of giving, with the knowledge that whatever little you give could start an avalanche of change. It's so easy to under estimate the power of the little things in life. It could be as simple as visiting someone in a hospital, to hold their hand and smile some life into their day of tedious repetition.
The moment we start becoming indifferent to unjust circumstances marks the beginning of an inward selfish spiral that leaves us wanting more of the wrong thing(s).
