We were not only shocked to see the
iconic Notre Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames, but we were also shocked to see
the speed at which donors pledged money to rebuild this cathedral. “Within
hours of the fire that destroyed much of the cathedral on Monday, donors
pledged more than $1 billion to restore the Parisian icon to its former glory,”
reports The Washington Post.1
The
New York Times relays the just anger of those who recognize the evil disparity
in rebuilding iconic structures over feeding the millions who remain in utter
poverty, “But the spectacle of billionaires trying to one-up one another
quickly intensified resentments over inequality that have flared during the
Yellow Vest movement, just as President Emmanuel Macron was looking to
transform the calamity into a new era of national unity…
“Can you imagine, 100 million, 200
million in one click!” said Philippe Martinez, the head of the militant CGT
labor union. “It really shows the inequalities in this country.”
“If they’re able to give dozens of
millions to rebuild Notre Dame,” he added, “they should stop telling us that
there is no money to pay for social inequalities.”
Ollivier Pourriol, a French
philosopher and novelist, summed up the sentiment more drolly.
“Victor Hugo thanks all the generous
donors ready to save Notre Dame and proposes that they do the same thing with
Les Misérables,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to another one of Hugo’s famous
novels, about the lives of the poor.”2
Yes, this anger is indeed
appropriate.
What’s the big need to rebuild an
iconic structure when more than a million lives are in danger of dying because
of the acute poverty they are in?
Well, this is precisely the world
that we live in. The optics of rebuilding an iconic structure seems more
significant than the optics of rehabilitation of the millions who lack the
basic necessities of life.
Regrettably, we even err in the
optics!
The frenzied response of the donors to
the rebuilding of Notre Dame has ignited anger towards God in the minds of some
who seek the truth amidst the multitude of hypocrisies in this world. The question they ask is this, ‘Why does God
allow a quick rebuilding of an iconic structure rather than alleviating
poverty?’
An answer that does not multiply
causes beyond necessity does justice to Occam’s razor. Let’s then strive for
such an answer.
First, be cognizant of the hypocrisy
of importing God into this theme. When we zealously reject God while we kill our
unborn babies (cf. Pro-Choice movement), why do we itch to import God in the
rebuilding of Notre Dame?
Let this remain a rhetorical question.
Second, everyone in whose mind this question
resides knows we are not living in a theocratic society. We are neither ruled
by God directly nor by priests claiming a divine commission. Given this
reality, why do we even strive to import God into the decision-making process of
a man? Or are we alluding that these billionaires are absolutely devout and
godly that they look to the Triune God for every business decision?
Let this also remain a rhetorical question.
Third, what is God’s role in such
situations as rebuilding Notre Dame? God has created us as free creatures. We are
free to do this or that.
God did not coerce the billionaires to
donate a portion of their wealth towards rebuilding Notre Dame. Of this, we can be
sure.
In fact, I posit godlessness to be
the driving force that motivated these billionaires to pledge their millions.
In our dispensation, we are
cognizant of God’s mind with respect to such predicaments. If a godly man is
presented an option to either feed the poor or build an extravagant structure (rather
unnecessary) that would only serve as a good optics for that city or society,
the godly man would inevitably choose to feed the poor.
The Bible remarkably associates God’s
final judgment to our care for the needy and the poor in our society:
“When the Son
of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his
glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King
will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes
and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you
came to visit me.’
“Then the
righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or
in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will
reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will
say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me
nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a
stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe
me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also
will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will
reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these,
you did not do for me.’
“Then they
will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25: 31-46, NIV)
This passage, significantly, reveals
that it’s not that those who feed the poor and care for the needy are made righteous
in God’s presence. But it is the righteous (those who are already righteous by
virtue of their belief and discipleship in Christ) that genuinely feed the poor
and care for the needy.
Therefore, every righteous believer
of the Triune God would zealously strive to alleviate the suffering of God’s
people than building extravagant structures that gratify the carnal passions of
a secular man.
So to conclude, if God is the active
ruler of every wealthy person, poverty would have been extinct years ago.
However, since God does not violate the freewill HE has offered to man, HE
allows the man to decide on every matter. So man has the freedom to decide on every
matter either by being obedient to God or by casting God out of his decision
making purview.
The rebuilding of Notre Dame is a
recent instance of man’s decision that reveals the extent of his allegiance to
the Triune God.
Endnotes:
1https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/billionaires-raced-to-pledge-money-to-rebuild-notre-dame-then-came-the-backlash/2019/04/18/7133f9a2-617c-11e9-bf24-db4b9fb62aa2_story.html?fbclid=IwAR3xi__SeXPM57L2_Ft8X1NSlghAL3mAsa2tQyeP5wT_cU_6VF6yFlRhOds&utm_term=.36b8775f8d5d
2https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/world/europe/yellow-vest-notre-dame-fire-donations.html
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