Abby wrote the following essay for a scholarship application several years ago. I don’t remember what the theme was or what question she was specifically supposed to answer. She didn’t get that particular scholarship, and I hoped she’d be able to use the essay somewhere else. Well, I guess this blog is Somewhere Else, because I always liked it. I found it deeply profound and profoundly clever. But, I’m biased.
People are pressured to give to those less fortunate in their communities and are overwhelmed by the needs that exist. No one person should feel the responsibility to save everybody. Even Superman cannot save everybody in the world; however, it is not impossible to change one person’s world.
Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia emphasizes, “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.” That may mean just being there for someone to talk to or buying Christmas presents for a family in financial trouble. It might mean helping rebuild a house that was torn down in a storm. No one person could do all of this for an entire community, but it is possible for an individual to do all of this for one person. One act of kindness can change a person’s day or change his or her whole outlook on life.
Andy Andrews writes and speaks about the Butterfly Effect. “Every time something happens, something else happens.” One person can affect the lives of many. Fostering or adopting a child from a disruptive home could have a positive effect not only on that child, but also on the generations to come by breaking the cycle of neglect. Tutoring a child, or even an adult returning to school, could affect that person’s future and the future of her children and of her children’s children by encouraging education.
Andy Griffith, one of the wisest men ever on television, was momentarily blinded to what the other Andys preach. In the episode “Opie’s Charity” from The Andy Griffith Show, Andy was ashamed that his son Opie donated three cents to the Underprivileged Children’s Fund. He tried to explain to Opie how to share and how he needed to share with everybody, but Opie realized that his money would be better spent to help one person than distributed among many. Through all his efforts to encourage Opie to give more money to the charity, Andy never asked him what he was going to purchase. Opie was saving to buy his girlfriend a new coat, because hers was worn and her mama did not have enough money to buy a new one. Opie’s $2.20 would not have made a difference in the lives of the 400 boys, but it kept the little girl warm the next winter. When asked by Opie what they were having for dinner that night, Andy replied, “I’m eatin’ crow.”
For me, this means that the needs of the many do not outweigh the needs of the few. Instead, one should take time, money, and energy to impact the lives of the few for the betterment of the many. It does not mean to stop contributing to the organizations that support large groups of people. It means not to lose sight of the needs of the individuals closest to home.
