A call to serve

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
-Edward Everett Hale


In the aftermath of the increasingly frequent disasters striking our world, potential responses vary according to needs and abilities. I am always faced with a difficult inner dialogue contrasting my limited abilities to help with my overwhelming feelings of responsibility and duty.

It is easy to see why my abilities are limited: I am not well enough established in my career to take the time off that would afford me the opportunity to physically help with disaster relief, nor am I secure enough financially to handle the financial burdens of my family and still donate any sizeable amount of money. Every bit counts, they say, but a meagre donation does not my conscience ease.

Where did this sense of duty and responsibility come from? Why isn't it shared by more people?

I believe that the privilege of simply being born into this world brings with it a few basic responsibilities that include acting towards humankind as if one is a citizen of the world and not only of one's own community. The good fortune of being born into a relatively affluent society, built on generations of privilege, should then bring with it additional responsibilities to those less fortunate than I.

I have to credit my family for nurturing this sense of duty. In my family there were always opportunities to perform charitable acts, either financially or by serving the community in some way. Giving was not always easy, but my parents encouraged us to appreciate the needs of others.

But my feeling of indebtedness to the world is difficult to appease. It is so easy in our lives to get caught up in our own needs and desires, and the line between is so easily blurred.

When it comes to serving humankind, where am I supposed to start? At what point to I have to consider my own comfort? Perhaps once my own basic needs are met I then have an obligation to devote at least a portion of my time and money to the basic needs of others. Perhaps it is only when I am "comfortable" that I am to begin helping those who are less advantaged.

A friend of mine was going hiking with me the other day, and on the trip up to the trailhead began to discuss her dilemma: A resident at a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi sent out an email to her medical school stating that their need for help is great, and that anyone able to rotate through their emergency department this month would be welcomed. Having already set up a rotation elsewhere, my friend was debating whether she should respond to this call. In the end we decided it was a no-brainer: the need is there, and her abilities to help are great. Could she even consider not responding? As a Christian, could she really turn down this call to service?

Even without religious calling, as humans shouldn't we all feel a similar call to arms? Or at least some sort of indebtedness?

And where, in my endeavours to help my fellow humans, do I stop? When is it enough? When can I consider my duty fulfilled? No matter what I consider, it never seems to be enough. The fact that there are innumerable occasions to donate time and money, how does one even select a cause? I'm paralyzed by indecision and a feeling of personal inadequacy. All I want is to be a good person. What does that take? A vow of poverty? A vocation of servitude? Complete devotion to one cause? Many? As long as I have luxuries and comfort, should I feel guilty for not contributing more? I bought a new television; they don't have food or homes. Is this fair?

Every time a disaster strikes that is the magnitude of Katrina (or last year's Tsunami, or the earthquake in India, or the ...) I am faced with the same internal turmoil. I hear the call to service, but cannot respond in any way I feel to be adequate.

I keep telling myself I'm not "there" yet. When will I be in that place that will allow me to serve adequately? Where is this place? What am I doing to get there?

What are you doing to get there?