Public Finance

For lack of a better topic to talk about, I want to discuss something interesting I learned in my Public Finance class this semester. We were learning about poverty and there was a line in my textbook that basically went:

The general public is fairly willing to back support for the poor. This is because we have a tendency to think that if we were in their position, we would want the help and support as well.

As much as I hate to admit it, to an extent, I think like this as well. When I see someone in a position of need, a part of me thinks of what would happen if I switched places with them. I have a tendency to think about how hard it must be to be in their position and as a result, I feel pity for them. I think about how I would deal with being homeless, of having no family to turn to, of having no friends to support me in my dark times. I think about how hard it must be to be in their position but all I can do is feel pity for them.

So, I never thought about it before, but seriously, this is a pretty selfish thought. To pity people because when I put myself in their position, I am discouraged. That's not right. I should be serving people because it's an act of worship to God. To love my brothers and sisters because I truly love them as brothers and sisters. Not because I pity them, but because I truly love them.

I suppose we just need to remember:

"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." - 1 John 4: 19-21