Acts of Kindness in this period of COVID-19
We
want to help. What compels us to care for others, to help people? See what
draws us toward selfless acts of kindness...
Some
people want to suggest that humans are on the same playing field as the rest of
the animal kingdom. Evolutionary processes affect humans, the same as fish. At
the core, decisions are made out of the same self-interest as any species. Why
then does it bother us that thousands are dying in the world today because of
coronavirus? Or that people are starving in countries under corrupt, greedy
governments? Why does it concern us that girls and women are being kidnapped
into sex slavery, or that thousands are being slaughtered by terrorists?
What
happened to our understanding of "survival of the fittest?" The
stronger winning over the weaker should be the norm. That should be acceptable
to us. But it is not acceptable. "Survival of the fittest" actually
runs against our conscience. We don't believe that a person should be
victimized, just because a stronger person is able to do it to them.
Our
compassion
There
is in human nature, a heart of compassion that runs upstream, against
evolutionary processes. What might be to our own benefit and good for our own
survival, might not be what we choose. We might desire the exact opposite. We
might, at risk to our own safety, pull an accident victim out of a burning car.
We might move to another country to rescue girls from sex slavery. We might
join humanitarian relief organizations in the fight against coronavirus or in countries known for guerilla kidnappings
and brutal, random murders etc. Why
do we do it? Why do we find it fulfilling to help others, when it might cost us
our lives? What draws us toward these unselfish acts of kindness? Could it be
for the reason that Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa proposes? He
contends that we have been created for "goodness."
"It is quite wonderful, yes amazing, that in a hard-headed cynical world such as our own, those we admire most, indeed revere, are not as we might have expected. [They are not] the macho, the aggressive, even the successful. No, amazingly, it is such as Mother Teresa, a Dalai Lama, a Mahatma Gandhi, and a Nelson Mandela."Why do we revere such as these? Why? "It is because they are good, and our hearts rejoice, exult in their presence. They make us feel good about being human. "And because, we (all of us) have been made for goodness. We have been made for God, for laughter, we have been made for gentleness, we have been made for caring, for sharing, for compassion".
Created
to be kind?
Is this true? God, the originator of
our lives, says "yes." Our lives have greater purpose than survival.
Here
is a glimpse of God’s purpose for our lives.
"For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them".
"He
has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but
to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God". There
are materialists who will try to convince us that we have no conscience, no
internal draw toward goodness. To them, we are merely led by chemical impulses, pre programmed by evolutionary development. They say we have a brain, but no
mind. A body, but no soul. Some of them would argue that as material, physical
objects, we cannot be asked to do more than what is in our self-interest. We
are nothing greater than evolved animals.
These
same materialists however, will contradict themselves. They say that we are
without free will, without conscience, but then ask us to make moral choices.
For example, they might ask us to protect our environment and to refrain from
using plastic bags, wasting water, burning fuels that pollute the air. How can
they ask for such self-sacrifice?
If
we are programmed toward victory over one another, then why sacrifice?
Author
Dinesh D'Souza poses this question about our inward motivations.
"...evolution does a good job in accounting for why we are selfish
animals, but it faces immense challenges in accounting for why we
simultaneously hold that we ought not to be selfish".
Our
propensity toward acts of kindness is embedded in our DNA.
To
care for others is how God made us.
"Who, of you, has never experienced when you have done something gratuitously good, when you have been nice to someone when you needn't have been. You have a wonderful glow inside of you. You really feel good.[And] when you have done something lousy, your body tells you. You feel it in your stomach. Anger, resentment affects you ... affects you. Your blood pressure goes up, because our nature is in fact to be good. That is, what we are created for."
Do
you want to see righteous actions for the poor, instead of abuse? To see mercy,
and peace? That's exactly what God wants us to pursue especially in this period
of COVID-19. All
the major religions on earth – Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity – all
hold Jesus Christ in highest esteem. His life was unique. His values
uncompromising. Jesus promised, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
However,
let's be honest. As humans, we also are capable of selfishness, greed, murder.
We have no problem ignoring the poor, the suffering, the homeless. And that's
our dilemma. “We want to believe in ultimate human goodness, but all too often
our hopes are dashed by selfish and violent acts of our own human family
against each other. We cling to the promise of new scientific breakthroughs to
help our hurting world, but we fear that some of these discoveries may be used
in ways that cause more harm than good."
The
challenge: compassion or selfishness? Therein lies the problem. We have two conflicting natures within us. One part of us
is very self-centered, focusing on what benefits us, even to the detriment of
others. The other part of us sincerely wants to sacrifice for others. We have
an inward conflict that the animal kingdom does not. Yet there is a solution.
Our better selves actually can win out. But not on our own. There is an
advantage in knowing God. When we experience his love, it takes us beyond our
own human limitations. God can pull us out of our self-centeredness and cause
us to care more deeply about others. Why do we find so many charities, serving
in the most difficult circumstances, are faith-based?
