Ups and Downs

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’” (Luke 16:19-26 ESV). I’ve always found it a bit amazing how God speaks in some of the most ordinary experiences of life. You would think a playground at the local fast food would not be much of a learning experience; and, certainly it couldn’t possibly be a reemphasis of a very important eternal truth. However, that’s exactly what happened not long ago. I stopped to get a quick bite to eat, but didn’t want to get it to go. So, I went inside and ordered my food. Sitting in a booth where the playground was visible, I noticed two children playing on a seesaw. Since the play area was enclosed in the building, I could hear their laughter and conversation as they played. One of the little girls stopped going up and down and said to her companion, “When I am up, you are down!” As happens more than you might imagine, that took me to a passage of Scripture. Our reading describes a particular teaching using some very vivid imagery. It details the experience of two men, one named Lazarus and another just called “the rich man.” Lazarus was a beggar who would sit at the cleaning table after the rich man had eaten and the servants came to clear out the scraps. He might have had to fight the dogs for what little was left over. It was a terrible existence. However, both men died, though they ended up in very different experiences. At least one of the subtexts of the teaching is, when it comes to food and resources, all the world rides a seesaw. One side is up; the other is down. One side is like the rich man; the other side is like poor Lazarus. The seesaw runs pretty much along north-south lines, the fulcrum being the equator. With one or two exceptions, affluent countries are in the northern hemisphere. That might be seen as the up side of the seesaw. Poorer countries tend to be in the southern hemisphere. That’s the down side. The difference in lifestyle and consumption of resources from one end of the seesaw to the other is mind-boggling. Compared to most of the world’s peoples, most Americans live like lings. Wealthy nations are not at fault for world hunger. It is not wrong to be prosperous. Affluence doesn’t make you bad. It makes you blessed. But there is something dreadfully wrong if those who are affluent can look at Lazarus starving at the low end of the seesaw and do nothing to help him. Perhaps we should rethink our effort to help those less fortunate than we are today.