Showing posts with label World War II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World War II. Show all posts

Friday, October 6, 2017

Selfish to Selfless

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.