I
have a bit of a fascination with reading biographies from World War
II. I’ve read several in the past few years. Recently I read two
that created a curious juxtaposition. The first was To End All Wars, by Ernest
Gordon. He tells about his time in the concentration camp that built
the bridge over the river Kwai. At first the prisoners were selfishly
stealing from one another in their effort to survive, and religion
was thought to be irrelevant. But over time they began to take care
of one another, helping the sick and wounded, and there was a revival
of faith in God.
The
book I read right after that was Shantung Compound, by Langdon Gilkey.
He was held in the Weihsien internment camp in China where many
missionaries (including Eric Liddell), teachers, and other Westerners
were held. Their living conditions were better than many other such
places. Families had small rooms to themselves, while singles shared
larger dorm rooms. They were allowed to keep personal belongings, and
they set up committees responsible for various chores. At one point,
there were 1400 residents, 200 of whom were Americans. The American
Red Cross sent in 1500 large care packages. The majority of the
Americans, including some Christians, felt that the packages should
be divided among the American residents and not shared anyone else.
They wanted 7.5 packages per person. Eventually the Japanese guards
had to rule that each person in camp got one parcel and the remainder
would be sent to other camps. Gilkey wrote:
“Certainly in camp everyone alike was involved in the problem; none was entirely righteous. ‘Good’ people and ‘bad’ people found it incredibly difficult, not to say impossible, to will the good; that is, to be objective in a situation of tension, and to be generous and fair to their neighbors. In all of us, moreover, some power within seemed to drive us to promote our own interests against those of our neighbors” (116).
Unlike
Ernest Gordon’s experience, Gilkey witnessed no change of
motivation or resurgence of faith. It’s ironic, but also
convicting, that those who had a little bit to call their own were
far more selfish than those who had absolutely nothing. It also makes
me wonder whether we do more harm than good with some of our
“Christian” outreach programs.
After
the war, Gilkey spoke to various groups, including a women’s church
group. He wrote later:
“We met in a mammoth suburban residence outside Chicago... As I spoke to these smiling and gracious ladies in the living room, out of the corner of my eye I could see two or three maids putting sandwiches, cookies, and towering chocolate cakes on the dining room table. I suppose I stressed the problems of hunger and the need for sharing even more than usual... When I had finished, the president... rose and addressed the following remarks to me.“‘I think our visitor, for all his good intentions, does not understand our point of view on these matters. You see, we don’t believe at all in the value of material things. It is the spiritual values of life that we feel are significant. We believe that what America has to offer the world is her spiritual superiority, not any advantage she may have in the realm of mere material goods... So we send moral and religious writings abroad, and do not approve of concentrating on the things that are not so important to the welfare of the soul’” (228).
As
I look at the brokenness of our world today, I note several types of
responses. There are those who are quick to recommend and enact
social “cures”—relief funds and supplies for hurricane victims,
better legislation and security to protect against mass shootings,
new jobs for the unemployed, etc. There are others who are eager to
provide spiritual support—prayer for victims, a listening ear, and
an encouraging word. There are some who will seek to pursue both
those avenues of help. And there are some who sit back and wonder
what all the fuss is about. I think it is evident that the best
efforts of good men will never outweigh the worst schemes of evil men
so long as sin reigns in this world. But I think it’s also fairly
evident that Christians should seek to do all that we can in serving
others, though we often fall far short of that ideal. We will always
have to fight against our own instincts for selfishness in how we use
our time, money, and possessions, but by God’s grace we can love
our neighbors with sincerity.
“Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Neither is love content with
barely working no evil to our neighbour. It continually incites us to
do
good: as we have time, and opportunity, to do good in every possible
kind, and in every possible degree to all men” (John Wesley).
“For
Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died
for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who
live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for
them and was raised again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15 NIV).
© 2017 Dawn
Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from
pixabay.com.
