Whether they be unborn, disabled, poor, stricken with AIDS, persecuted for their faith, imprisoned or the child of a prisoner, politically oppressed, or otherwise voiceless:

Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community.

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

(courtesy "Verse and Voice of the Day" e-mail from Sojourners)

Comments

I was thinking about this in my prayer time this morning - thinking about why I fail so miserably to be more concerned about these people. I concluded that why many people may be innured to them is that others are so intrusive in our lives. We all live so with other people - with so very many other people - as media draws every problem of society into our awareness, that we get overwhelmed. I must get 40 emails a day asking for help with others' problems, plus the appeals for donations in the mail. I cannot help everyone - no one can; yet, our God-given compassion makes us want to. I think we deaden that compassion so that it does not drive us crazy.

[Puzzled]

No doubt our Ancient observer from the Pegasus dwarf would reply "It's what we do"