the death toll in the Pakistan quake has now reached 79,000!There's a lot of talk about compassion fatigue these days. All these tragedies are overwhelming, to be sure. But, as Lores points out, if you or I were the victims of tragedy, we would hope and pray that God was keeping our fellow human beings from developing cases of compassion fatigue.
That's 26 times the number of Americans we lost on September 11. Where is the public cry for help and relief in our nation. I was so proud of the way we responded to the victims of hurricane Katrina.
Thankfully, there are organizations, like Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse, without an ethnocentric bone in their organizational body, just as committed to helping the victims of this terrible quake as they were those who survived Katrina.
I challenge you, even as we prepare for yet another massive storm to hit the shores of our great nation, to take a moment to figure out what your role is to support the victims in the wake of the disaster in Pakistan.
Whether your role is to pray or to contribute financially, do it. God knows, we would want the same done for us.
Lores is right that our capacity to express compassion may be the simple ability to say a prayer each day. We can ask God to help people rebuild their lives, to bless the efforts of relief organizations, to speed aid to those who need it, and to use each tragedy as a conduit by which the message of His love and redemption through Jesus Christ can be heard, seen, and felt. Every prayer offered in Jesus' Name is an invitation to God come to invade the world with His love, grace, and goodness.
If we can do other things out of compassion for others, that's great, too. Lores mentions making donations to Samaritan's Purse, which does great work. I would also mention Lutheran World Relief and Catholic Relief Services.
UPDATE: John Schroeder at Blogotional also has important things on militating against compassion fatigue.
5 comments:
Good post, Mark!
I think I am still in shock from all the disasters happening, but then we really shouldn't be in shock since it is written in the Bible, huh? Now I wonder just how many Winter blizzards are going to hit us?
Nice post and good attitude, natural disasters don't discriminate, neither should we.
Phyllis and Ahamed:
Thanks to both of you for your affirming comments. Let's keep everyone in the world who has been hurt by these natural disasters in our prayers.
God's best blessings!
Mark
Hi Mark,
So much good stuff packed in such a small space. :) Sometimes I think you get these people to write for you. :)
I can't help but tie this post to yours on connectedness. What I feel sometimes is not fatigue, but disconnected from those who have suffered. They are so far away and I can do so little.
And my compassion is so needed right outside my own door where my father-in-law has Alzheimer's and his wife is afraid and my best friend's parents are losing their way in a similar fashion and she is an only child. All we can do is watch and listen.
Our emotional bank accounts get filled up by your words and the withdrawals are frugally shared among those who need them like pennies each prayer for all.
It's not fatigue. Maybe it's humbled that my contribution must be so small. Would that I could do what my heart's compassion wishes and still live up to my call to care for my family.
smiles,
Liz
Liz:
These are good thoughts! Amid waiting for the security alarm people at our church building and facilitating the signing of a contract for pest control there, I began jotting down the notes for tomorrow's message. It will address some of these issues from the standpoint of Matthew 22:34-46 and, good Lord willing, will be posted on the blog later tomorrow.
Thanks for your visit and your comments!
Blessings!
Mark
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