RICH SAINT, POOR SAINT I did not wake up in the wee hours to do my usual writing . This means I have to utilise my break and lunch times to meet my daily quota of Ramblings. This means staying away from the usual post-weekend gossip at the staff canteen. I am not much of a gossiper but I do miss those tales. As usual I am hard up for stuff to “ramble” about but my faith has always kept me going and so I have no need to panic. I wonder how much controversy I can cause by discussing a hot topic like poverty and sainthood . I have heard many people say that poverty is a curse but I remember the Holy Bible talking about the poor being blessed “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” or something to that effect. The Bible also boldly declares that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven! So which is the curse here? Is it the rich man or the “church mouse”? It is very difficult to find much to admire about poverty except probably the promised benefits which are only available in the next life. There are not many poor people who have made it to greatness but one thing that surprises me is that history tends to laud the efforts of poor movers and shakers much more than the rich ones. I cannot think of any rich man who has accomplished more than Jesus Christ of Nazareth . His ministry was only for three years but his legacy traverses time and countless generations, past, present and future! Mother Theresa of Calcutta made it to saint hood through working with and among the poorest of the poor in the slums ! Another case in point is Mahatma Gandhi. I do not want to take anything away from the rich guys out there but I cannot think of any of them who has reached those heights of recognition in spite of them pouring out billions to the cause of the poor. I do not know whether this is society failing to acknowledge their philanthropic activities or is there something amiss here? Let us analyse the various reasons why some rich people donate to charity. Most of these guys do it because they get a rebate on their tax bill for such activities. Others donate as a way to get the much needed publicity. Some whose riches are dubiously acquired do so in order to “clean out their names”. A typical case in point is that of the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar who was famous for his generous donations to the poor although his generosity also extended to dishing out bullets to those who crossed his path. In fact most rich people donate more to actualise themselves than for the sheer goodness of it. They are actually using their money to create their own legacies. Whilst we can never find fault with any attempt to improve the lot of the less fortunate ones, the motives for so-doing sometimes are so unholy that they fly in the face of philanthropy. Why are these “generous” rich people so quick to set up charities and name them after themselves? How many of them are prepared to donate their billions to the poor and yet remain anonymous? Why is there a loud scream for recognition of their philanthropy? I do not want to do down the good efforts of these people but I am trying to explain why society does not seem to place that high a value on their efforts. It does not take much visible sacrifice for a billionaire to dole out a couple of millions to the poor because that is their equivalent of spare change from the back pocket. In fact you might find that some of these donations are a cheaper way of advertising themselves than conventional methods of advertising. In other words this becomes a cheaper way out and the beneficiary only benefits in “crossfire”. However, let me be the first to admit that there are some few rich guys who donate from “the bottom of their hearts” but their efforts are clouded by the others who do so for reasons other than mere charity. On the other hand let us look at the poor man. His status automatically means that the odds of achieving anything noticeable are heavily stacked against him from the word go. Their biggest weapon is determination and sacrifice in the face of any adversity. All they have is their faith coupled by a never-say-die attitude that sees them face extreme conditions with a gutsiness that would see ordinary mortals crumble. A lot of these poor achievers have put their own lives to great risk all for the service of other beings. Many of them have actually lost their lives just to better the lives of others. Look at Jesus of Nazareth. All he had to do was to renounce his self proclaimed title of “king of the Jews” to save his life but he wouldn’t! For him it was better to die than to go back on what He believed in. How many rich people have done that? How many rich people are prepared to lose their money or wealth to better the lives of the less fortunate? I am not aware of any rich man who has gone to such lengths for others. It therefore appears that society tends to judge achievement more by the immensity of the sacrifice one is prepared to make for a particular cause and what greater sacrifice can one put at stake than one’s own life? So there you have it you rich fellas. Try sacrificing either all your riches or your lives (or both) and you will see how fast you ascend the road to sainthood. I know this sounds difficult but such sacrifice goes way beyond the amount of spare change from your back pockets that you are prepared to dole out just to masturbate your egos. Food for thought guys.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:50:22 +0000
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