From the Editors April 4, 2011 Issue

Provision for the giver

The Editors

As this editorial goes to press, one of the largest fire departments in the United States—Los Angeles County—carries forward the routine and never-ending work of educating the public in important fire-prevention measures. On top of that, first responders from the various stations in the department answer a host of emergencies that, day-in and day-out, occur without warning. On top of that, this same department recently sent a special search and rescue team to New Zealand to help with the aftermath of the tragic earthquake there. (Just over a year ago, the same department sent the same elite squad to help in Haiti, as that nation dug out from the devastation left by its earthquake.) 

All of this is certainly good news for those desperately in need of good news, for those who are on the receiving end of emergency aid. But who cares for the caregivers? Who responds to the needs of the first responders? 

Perhaps the answer is best summed up in this translation of a Bible passage, which originally was part of a letter from St. Paul to the early Christian church at Corinth. “God is able to bless you with ample means, so that you may always have quite enough for any emergency of your own and ample besides for any kind act to others” (II Cor. 9:8, James Moffatt). Provision for the giver comes from the source of all giving, the source of all good, which is God, divine Love. He provides us with ample means to take care of our own routine demands. He provides us with the means to respond to emergencies that surface in our lives. And, yes, He provides us with the means to perform acts of kindness. This is true even if performing those acts of kindness means traveling to the other side of the planet in the effort to meet the needs of the human family.

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