On the Turning Away
I was listening to a Pink Floyd song entitled, “On the Turning Away” this week. It is about the human tendency to turn away from those downtrodden around us. As I was humming along, I was going through the day’s mail and I came across a pamphlet with a close-up of a sad looking dog named Mungo. I was encouraged to read Mungo’s story. I was told “he’s no-one’s friend; he’s mistreated or neglected” — even though the picture of Mungo shows he is really a she. And I was told I could help. Like you, I receive plenty of junk mail. I often receive calls to donate money: the NRA wants me to help their political situation; Arizona State University wants me to finance the education of others; the local Sheriff and/or Police and/or Fire departments want me to help with their benefits. This is the first time I have been asked to help the stray dogs of the world. So I turned away.
But obviously I did not turn away. I still have this pamphlet sitting by my keyboard. Not because I plan on “fighting the bloodshed” nor because I want a “FREE subscription” to a magazine with my donation of $20 or more. I am simply mystified by the fact that this group (that I will keep anonymous) exists. I grew up in a third-world country where stray dogs and other assorted animals wandered around freely. Unlike what this pamphlet says, though, I never saw “armed dog control officers randomly shooting dogs in crowded streets.” Is there a problem? Has this problem always been there? There are stray dogs in Jerusalem today. Were there stray dogs following Jesus and His disciples?
The point of my blurb is not to harangue the attempt of others to help the ailing dogs of the world, but rather to reflect on the pity and guilt that we, as humans, are wired with. You and I are wired to be sympathetic. We spend much of our life denying this. We often ignore these feelings. A very effective marketing tool is to point out the pity that we should have and then overlay that with guilt. Not everything we find ourselves pitying, though, need be pitied.
The ultimate act of compassion and pity was the expression of God’s love for us: forgiving us. The story is illustrated in the parable of the unforgiving servant. Read it.
Matthew 18:27 — And out of pity for him, the master of the servant released him and forgave him the debt.
We have been forgiven and it is now our duty to forgive those around us. We have been loved and it our command to love each other.
Unfortunately we are inundated with requests for our goodness and our money. We have so many requests for help and we become proficient at turning away. When real requests arise, we have no problem turning away — it is too easy. Politics and stray dogs may be your thing; you shan’t be judged for that by me. Or you may turn away from such requests for your money. We are all accountable for how we spend our money and on what. But let us not forget what we are commanded to do: to love and care for other humans.
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On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we wont understand
Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away
Its a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that were all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?
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