“Not my problem.”
Such is the general sentiment in the world today. The information age has made us hyper aware of the difficulties of people across the globe and problems we would never have appreciated otherwise. However, this knowledge often fails to compel us to action as the needs are simply overwhelming. To rectify this information with our inaction we have instead become masters at crafting justifications for ourselves. The most common, yet defeating, reason being that our contributions are unlikely to have an impact on so great a need.
Solomon refutes this errant thinking below in Proverbs 24:
“Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know—
Someone not impressed with weak excuses.”
Reflecting on that verse this week challenged me. Short of a situation where I am concerned for someone’s safety, in my day-to-day activity I am unlikely to step in to a stranger’s situation and do anything about it. I say this is because I highly value privacy and don’t want to intrude, but I think that falls into the ‘weak excuse’ category the author mentions above.
I don’t think this verse is telling us to get involved in every situation all the time, but I can definitely think of times where I should have gotten involved, even felt that nudge, but failed to act. I think we could all be more proactive in helping people regardless of the scope of impact.
I’ll close with a parable that, while not biblical, highlights the attitude Solomon is striving for us to embody when seeing people in need:
One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.
Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.
The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”
The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”