Day 23 - Help People Carrying Heavy Loads

They say that chivalry is dead. Not only is this true, but society has suffered many downstream effects from the death of chivalry.

Our hypersensitive world, which is easily offended and triggered by the implications of receiving help from a stranger, is on a fast track to total isolation and loneliness. The ideals of charity and offering assistance to strangers have become less valued in today’s culture to the detriment of our children and our most vulnerable. What’s more troubling is some of the more popular proposed solutions are even more problematic because they lead us further down the path to isolation while claiming to solve our culture’s most glaring issues.

Consider the Libertarian worldview.

While there are many redeeming qualities of Libertarianism, the underlying themes involve intentional isolation and a mindset that claims “I don't need anyone or anything, I am completely self-sovereign.” These declarations are an affront to the human condition and are plainly false in a world where interdependence is baked into the fabric of our everyday lives. This worldview ultimately produces selfishness in the individual and leads to depravity where people are essentially being trained to avoid others in the name of “liberty”. Again, this framework may move us closer to an ideal that improves on the current political status quo, but my question is:

What does this undo and what kind of people does this produce?

The reality of our world is that there are strong people and there are weak people. There are able bodied people and there are people with disabilities. There are people who are carrying heavy loads and there are people whose loads are lighter. The question is what is our obligation to our fellow man? Where does the innate human instinct come from to hold a door open for someone who has their hands full?

Should we follow these instincts or should we keep our head down and march to the beat of our own drum in the name of manifesting shallow interpretations of buzzwords like “sovereignty”, “liberty” and “independence”?

This isn’t an idealistic rant about fixing homelessness or eradicating poverty. This is about a posture of the heart that aligns with the heart of our Creator. This is about the golden rule which we can all ultimately relate to: treat others the way you want to be treated.

As our world becomes colder, as people become more socially distanced and as we grow further from knowing the first name of our next door neighbor, we have to pause and reflect on the type of habits we are becoming entrenched in and how those habits will be passed down to our children.

As for me and my house, chivalry will not be dead.

Reflection:

It is sobering to admit that being a person of compassion means being acutely aware of the world’s woes and our own inability to make a measurable difference. Yet, sometimes this over analysis leads to paralysis and we fail to take ANY action because we cannot fix everything.

Practice:

Help one person with something small. Then, help someone else. Practice offering help and even to the point of being literal with this command where opportunities present themselves: Help People Carrying Heavy Loads.