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"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4 ESV)
Besides the fact that so many are sick and dying, what is happening in this world as a result of COVID-19?
I am so saddened to see that most people seem to have a "me first" attitude. Why do "I" need to comply with social distancing? "I'm" not sick! This has been an increasing source of frustration for my wife and I as we see people breaking socialization bans. They don't know if they are carriers or not. Neither do they know if those they are with are carriers. Meanwhile they may be inadvertently infecting the vulnerable with this monster virus.
With "me first" being the attitude seen in every corner of the earth, it was refreshing to hear in the news about the president of a far-off country in Africa. Uhuru Kenyatta, president of the Republic of Kenya, said something unheard of recently. Knowing his people were already suffering and would potentially suffer much more from the global coronavirus pandemic, he announced that he would take a drastic reduction of his salary to free up more funds to help his people. We heard on the news that this would amount to an 80% pay cut! Now that's a significant pay loss! Why would the Kenyan president do such a thing? Because he cared more for his people than for padding his bank account.
Maybe there are others in the world making similar sacrifices, but none of these sacrifices have been brought to my attention. For the most part, rich presidents, prime ministers and kings are not making a show of reaching into their own pockets to help their people.
But before we become too critical, we have to ask ourselves this important question: What would we do in their shoes? If we were head of state for a people under siege, how would we respond? Would we do everything in our power to help them? Or would we just pretend we cared?
Let's remember this Bible verse: "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4 ESV)
Now ask yourself: Do YOU truly care? Are YOU doing everything in your power to help others?
During the 911 crisis of 2001, an elderly man fell on the street. He was a Jew. A Muslim reached out to help him up and then ensured he got home okay.
There are great people out there. Why not resolve to join in with these people who think more about others than about themselves? After all, it is how Jesus asks us to live! Maybe we can't reduce our salary by 80%, but there are things we can do. Remember: Do I follow the example of the world and look out for "me", or do I follow the example of Uhuru Kenyatta and reach out to help others in need?
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
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