What would you do??
Imagine...
You're home and your vehicle were just washed away by flooding. You have nothing....NOTHING, but the clothes on your back. No food. No water. No help in sight.
Now imagine...
You are a diabetic and you have no insulin, which you NEED to survive.
or...
You have a small baby, but nothing to feed it. No formula...nothing.
Would you steal? Would you join the looters of Rite-Aid and Walmart?
I'm only hypothetically asking because I truly don't know what I would do. I watch the looters with distain and shame, but then, I put myself in their place. What if it wasn't TV's and Stereos, but instead medications and things you need for survival? What if it was for the survival of your family? What if help was just not getting there fast enough?
Amanda says...
Like I told you, I don't exactly believe this is looting - taking enough food to get you through a few days is a lot different than stealing electronics equipment that you can't even use. So it's possible that I would take what I needed, although I hope I wouldn't...I really don't know. But anyway, I obviously can't blame the people who do it in this situation!
What if the only way you can get what you need is by shooting the shop owner, though? Or what if you're so terrified of being without, you take more than you need and ignore other people going hungry? Either one would be easy to fall into in this kind of situation. Still understandable, knowing our human nature (including my own!) - it's easier to hurt people rather than suffer for a while yourself - but in these cases it's not so easy to overlook.
Anyway, this is why America need to help the people of New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast where lives have been severely affected by the hurricane.
You're home and your vehicle were just washed away by flooding. You have nothing....NOTHING, but the clothes on your back. No food. No water. No help in sight.
Now imagine...
You are a diabetic and you have no insulin, which you NEED to survive.
or...
You have a small baby, but nothing to feed it. No formula...nothing.
Would you steal? Would you join the looters of Rite-Aid and Walmart?
I'm only hypothetically asking because I truly don't know what I would do. I watch the looters with distain and shame, but then, I put myself in their place. What if it wasn't TV's and Stereos, but instead medications and things you need for survival? What if it was for the survival of your family? What if help was just not getting there fast enough?
Amanda says...
Like I told you, I don't exactly believe this is looting - taking enough food to get you through a few days is a lot different than stealing electronics equipment that you can't even use. So it's possible that I would take what I needed, although I hope I wouldn't...I really don't know. But anyway, I obviously can't blame the people who do it in this situation!
What if the only way you can get what you need is by shooting the shop owner, though? Or what if you're so terrified of being without, you take more than you need and ignore other people going hungry? Either one would be easy to fall into in this kind of situation. Still understandable, knowing our human nature (including my own!) - it's easier to hurt people rather than suffer for a while yourself - but in these cases it's not so easy to overlook.
Anyway, this is why America need to help the people of New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast where lives have been severely affected by the hurricane.
posted by Andrea @ 9:43 AM
2 Comments:
At 11:44 AM,
Hannah said…
To be sure, we don't know what kind of desires would kick in to ensure our own survival.
I think, Amanda, you made a good point: Its easier to hurt others than to suffer.
Here's a quesiton: Can it be said that those who have applied Christianity to it's greatest degree would/should be more likely to embrace physical suffering?
I'd like to think that I'd be willing to suffer for the sake of someone else's life saved, knowing my assurance. But I also know my selfish self is so strong!
At 11:10 PM,
Amanda said…
Thanks for your input! I think you're right, if you have a great hope, not only for this life but the one to come, you have a lot better reason to give up your own "rights" for others. Not because you need to do good some works, or because suffering makes you more righteous somehow, but because you know someone else suffered for you already and showed you mercy. I think part of my problem in not living this out always is that I forget the whole gospel part of it - otherwise there just ain't enough motivation.
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