Compassionate care.Dear editor, As a hospital chaplain Noun 1. hospital chaplain - a chaplain in a hospital chaplain - a clergyman ministering to some institution I am often confronted with the question: How does/can God help? As a Christian, I recognize there are many such questions and challenges, within our own Christian culture, as to what this "helping" of others should look like. Often the resolve is: God helps those who help themselves. It seems like a pretty reasonable statement. After all, why should a capable person sit back and wait for some higher power Higher power is a term used in a 12-step program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, to describe "a power greater than yourself." Although many participants equate their higher power with God, a belief in God or in formal religion is not mandatory; the higher power is intended as a to rescue them? Surely they can show initiative, perhaps even meet the divine halfway. The major fallacy fallacy, in logic, a term used to characterize an invalid argument. Strictly speaking, it refers only to the transition from a set of premises to a conclusion, and is distinguished from falsity, a value attributed to a single statement. in this statement is assuming that people who need help are capable of finding it on their own. Circumstances, waning self-esteem, and compound loss can immobilize im·mo·bi·lize v. 1. To render immobile. 2. To fix the position of a joint or fractured limb, as with a splint or cast. im·mo us to a point that even thinking about helping ourselves can equate to climbing Mt. Everest. The African proverb proverb, short statement of wisdom or advice that has passed into general use. More homely than aphorisms, proverbs generally refer to common experience and are often expressed in metaphor, alliteration, or rhyme, e.g. , "It takes a village to raise a child" is true. Without a compassionate caring community around us it is often impossible to get the help we need. Simply saying that "God helps those who help themselves," is a polite way of excusing ourselves from the commitment and obligation to those who are struggling. Divine compassionate care comes in the form of our hands, our minds, our connections, shared resources, listening ears, and the sacrifice of time when another is in need. Or, to rewrite the much quoted axiom above, God helps those who are compassioned by others. Donald Shields Markham, Ont. |
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