I get tired of hearing I’m not doing enough, in the middle of my trying to do something. There is so much pain, hunger and tragedy all the time. How can I help meet all the needs that are out there? Just thinking about it makes me tired. (See paragraph 2, pg. 77 of Quitting Church)
What would you say if I told you that you didn’t need to? What if you could be an active participant in the Kingdom of God without responding to every need that presents itself?
Remember what happened this spring with the devastations in both Tuscaloosa and Joplin? I remember the personal guilt I experienced because not only did I not go, I never felt compelled to go. Am I heartless? Some might say yes. These came right on the heels of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Come on, how much can one person take? How much can humanity be expected to respond to?
Henri Nouwen says, “When there is no community that can mediate between world needs and personal responses, the burden of the world can only be a crushing burden. When the pains of the world are presented to people who are already overwhelmed by the problems in their small circle of family or friends, how can we hope for a creative response?”
So, I ask again: How much are we expected to respond to? All of it. That’s right — all of it. Not me, but you and me together.
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