Reminders: Just Save One
by Ardith Hoff
In one of the recent super-hero movies, several heroes team up to save the world. One of the more experienced heroes is advising a younger one who is finding the situation overwhelming. He says, “You don’t have to do it all. Just save one!” That is good advice in many situations. We can’t do it all, but we can do something, and all we can do is start with one problem at a time. It is too easy to feel overwhelmed by the size and scope of the needs, whether it is the number of people who need nutritional help or the number of diseases that need to be cured. All we can do is help one person or one organization at a time.
Just because we can’t do everything is not an excuse for doing nothing. Even in our daily lives it is easy to get overwhelmed and wonder how we are ever going to get everything done. The hardest part is often deciding where to start. In medicine that is called, “triage”.
In the case of a disaster where too many people come to a medical center for all to be treated at the same time, the triage doctor or nurse has to decide who should be treated first. There is actually a color-coding system where black symbolizes the dead or hopelessly wounded with little-to-no hope of survival. They do not get treated. Reds get treated first, yellows next and green last. “Greens” are the most difficult because they are considered to have only minor injuries and are likely to survive until alternate resources can be found. They are also the most aware and more likely to cause problems because they fear that their injuries might be more serious than can be seen at a glance, but decisions have to be made.
If we “triage” where we should concentrate our helping efforts, we might find that there are obvious needs that should take priority. Giving to organizations that do the triage for us and are known for making the best use of what we give is a sensible way to decide.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7