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Friday, March 19, 2004

“He has . . . set eternity in the hearts of men . . .”

I realize that there is a longing for eternity within me, a longing for eternal life, a longing for eternal satisfaction.

I long for eternal relationships, where I and another can run to the end of eternity and back again and not be exhausted, longing to go deeper still.

A great sadness falls upon my heart, for I do not have that sort of relationship with any of my friends here in this world though I long for it so much.

Indeed, though my fervent desire is to share such an intimacy of heart, I am dismayed to find how much both they and I are incapable of such a thing this side of heaven.

Am I doomed to a life consumed with a futile search for that which cannot be found?

“. . . whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

May I say with the woman at the well, “Give me this water so that I will not get thirsty.”

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

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Thursday, March 11, 2004

The essay “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” was the first piece of writing by Peter Singer that I have ever read. His name is not new to me, for I have read other things that have made reference to him and his rather bold ideas. While I have been completely opposed to his suggestions, finding his argument for legal infanticide particularly repugnant, he does have a certain skill for clarifying an issue, since he is willing to make sharp, vivid comparisons and take concepts to their logical extremes. In this particular case, his suggestion for the reduction of world poverty is one that causes me to stop and think, especially as one committed to a Christian ethic. In order to illustrate his point, he creates a hypothetical situation:

Bob is close to retirement. He has invested most of his savings in a very rare and valuable car, a Bugatti, which he has not been able to insure. The Bugatti is his pride and joy . . . . One day when Bob is out for a drive, he parks the Bugatti near the end of a railway siding and goes for a walk up the track. As he does so, he sees that a runaway train, with no one aboard, is running down the railway track. Looking farther down the track, he sees the small figure of a child very likely to be killed by the runaway train. He can’t stop the train and the child is too far away to warn of the danger, but he can throw a switch that will divert the train down the siding where his Bugatti is parked. Then nobody will be killed – but the train will destroy his Bugatti. Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch. The child is killed. For many years to come, Bob enjoys owning his Bugatti and the financial security it represents (882-883)

Singer then goes on to say that many of us are in a very similar situation as Bob. We can “see” that there are children all around the world who are in such extreme poverty that their lives are danger. He asks if we do not have just as much moral responsibility as Bob. If Bob should have sacrificed his Bugatti – a car which was an unnecessary luxury – to save the child on the train tracks, then we should sacrifice any excess resources that we have in order to save the lives of children around the world (883).
If I cared nothing for the needs of others but only for the satisfaction of my own desires, then I could glibly ignore his call for action, happily acknowledging my selfish state. However, not only would I like to think that I have some measure of compassion, I am also called to live a life of love and mercy:

The most important one [commandment] . . . is this: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31 NIV)

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:37-40 NIV)

Just how far does love go? Shall I give away 100% of my money and refuse to eat so that others may eat and live? Should I be proactive and try to find people that need assistance, or should I relegate my giving to those chance encounters when I stumble across a person in need?
Singer suggests giving whatever is excess. This raises an interesting question: Excess in this context is whatever money remains after meeting my own personal needs, but are my needs? What is truly necessary? Many people have lived long and even satisfying lives with nothing more than a hut with a thatched roof, one set of clothes (shoes are optional), and a simple form of food. Singer talks about buying a new TV, eating at restaurants, getting the latest fashions in clothes, and vacationing at beach resorts as being excesses (882), but I would go further: Are cars or even bicycles necessary? Is a college education necessary? Is a computer with internet access necessary? Is a phone necessary? How about books and newspapers?
This is not a simple issue, nor is it one that can be arbitrarily decided by some panel of “experts”. This is an issue that bears contemplation, and having read this essay, I will be thinking about it much more in the days to come. Am I like Bob with his Bugatti? Do I calmly stand to the side, protecting my resources yet watching the poor around me suffer?

Singer, Peter. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty.” The Arlington Reader: Canons and Contexts. Eds. Lynn Z. Bloom and Louise Z. Smith. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 881-86



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