Work and Self Reliance

Deuteronomy 28:1-68 ESV / 12 helpful votes “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ...

The Analysis for “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Help the Poor” In the article “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor”, the author Garrett Hardin raised the question that whether the rich countries should help people suffer from poverty. He claimed that the supporting strategies for the developing countries, including the World Food Bank could result in more severe recourse inadequate issue and other disasters. In addition, a large number of immigrants flood in the US could ruin the natural environment and social balance. In that case, the author argued that regardless of the current situation, privileged nations should not provide aid to people trapped within difficulties of the underdeveloped nations. Even though, his

It is unfortunate how often we hear about a disaster occurring in Africa. From civil wars in Somalia and Congo, famine in Yemen and viruses spreading through Liberia, people associate Africa as being chaotic, violent, corrupt, and incredibly poor to the point many Americans still believe animals freely roam in

For example; the United States itself and other nations such as Somalia and Congo continue to have people with no shelter over their head and those with no food to eat, regardless of how hard some may strive to make ends meet, they are still in poverty. As those more auspicious, we should consider it as a moral obligation to assist those people who are less fortunate, be it those in the same nation as us or those farther away.

A seamless model of self-reliance, Chris McCandless, refusing to conform to society, displays the intensity of extreme independency, to the point he dies but unlike many others, he

Garrett Hardin, who wrote “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor” gives us his central metaphor of a lifeboat. It tells us if we put too many people in our lifeboat, it will sink and everyone will die. Harding believes that this metaphor is appropriate because despite our prosperity our resources are limited. If the United States were to help poor countries, we wouldn’t leave any for the United States, we would just put ourselves in a situation to ensure that we become poor like them. The potential number of impoverished people in need of our help is unlimited, especially if we keep helping them. Hardin informs us that the well- intentioned of helping is actually counterproductive. When the United States gives international aid to third world countries, we cause more suffering in the end. The poor country that receives aid is not growing wealthy or

Still Alive, but Barely Breathing In America, millions of people are reported to be living below the poverty line each year. To be exact, in 2014, about fifteen percent of Americans, or forty-seven million people were considered to be in poverty (Poverty). However, in 2014, countries such as the Democratic Republic

What are some issues that threaten the immediate stability and balance of the world? War? Nukes? Global Warming? Economic fluctuations? The answer is none of the above. All of these are admissible issues, but they don’t come near to the immediate impact and effects that accompany world poverty. An estimated three billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, yet there hasn’t been any drastic actions taken to counteract this predicament in a sustaining manner (Shah). However, writers such as Peter Singer and Garrett Hardin are doing a stupendous job bringing this topic into the spotlight. Both “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor,” and “The Singer Solution To World Poverty,” offer insight to this serious issue. Both authors

Throughout history, less fortunate people around the world have been ignored. Only a few have stood up and have devoted their own time in order to help these people through strong faith. It’s time to take initiative, make a change in the world, and do more for others than we do for ourselves.

With a compassionate mindset set, one will begin to develop a habit of generosity which in turn will lessen taxes for government aid programs. While examining South Africa’s reconstruction, Tutu noted that “Harmony, friendliness, (and) community are the greater goods. Social harmony is for us the greatest good. Anything that subverts, that undermines this sought-after good, is to be avoided like the plague.” He noticed that his nation received greater benefits when the people personally controlled amnesty instead of the courts. Likewise, America receives greater benefits when its citizens control charitable aid instead of its government. One afternoon on my way home from work, I noticed a malnourished homeless man on the side of the street. All of the surrounding cars drove by and ignored his suffering. I went through the Burger king drive thru and bought him a meal. I then pulled up next to the man and held the bag of food out of my window. He walked over to me, took the bag and began to cry. If

Africa has a caring community that is willing to share when someone is in need. “The wayfarers who stopped to smile, to sell us pineapples, to dig out our vehicle, to help us rebuild a bridge to let us pass. The villagers who welcomed us to their huts for a bowl of porridge, a glass of water” (Jones 294). Villagers often offered food and other supplies to Jones and Muggleton. They offered to help move their Land Rover and gave them food and water.

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful steward of God's grace in its various forms"

Dr. Steve Maraboli once said, “The universe does not give you what you ask for with your thoughts; it gives you what you demand with your actions.” Some Africans described themselves as poor, but in order to receive enough money, they would have to be persistent in their work or searching for one to be done. The article, “12 Reasons Why Africans Are Poor, Miserable And Pitiable” explains how the people feels about the African being poor. The writer says that they are poor because of the love for foreign made goods, the way they have lost faith in their ability to use their creative ingenuity, and the little things they manage to produce.

Many of us Americans tend to take our lives for granted and do not know what poverty and desperation really, truly feel like. Myriad people in our current society have forgotten what it means to be compassionate. We have lost our humanity to the wave of facts and data that has become our daily lives. The idea of knowledge has swallowed us whole and it leaves no room to listen to our hearts and put ourselves in another’s shoes. We tend to believe that everything in our world is black and white.

Unfortunately, it was estimated that roughly 1.2 billion people in 1993 lived in extreme or absolute poverty, that which Robert McNamara regards “‘a condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable standard of human dignity’” (Singer 219, 220). These estimates can be projected at nearly 2 billion today. A large majority of the people living in absolute poverty resides in underdeveloped countries. Among the nearly 4.4 billion people in these countries, “3/5 lives in societies lacking basic sanitation; 1/3 go without safe drinking water; 1/4 lack adequate housing; 1/5 are undernourished, and 1.3 billion live on less than $1 a day” (Speth 1).