One of my better friends in Boulder is a Presbyterian pastor, Rich Bledsoe, who sends out very thought provoking ideas, questions, and reflections to his friends. In one of his recent reflections he deals with the question of suffering and asks this question:
"Modern Western man is now strangely living in an age of psychic misery, neurosis, and alienation, all the while living in the midst of unparalleled wealth, leisure, and luxury. It is by now becoming an ordinary experience, with the ease of travel in the Western world, that many Westerners are traveling to and amongst the very poor in what is now termed 'The Third World'. The disquieting discovery, that is now becoming commonplace, is that often the poorest of the poor have a radiance and joy about them that is quite unknown in the wealthy West. How can this be?"
And yet they pour into our country wanting the material wellbeing we have. Who wouldn't? Still, the disturbing truth is that happiness eludes many, many people who seek after passing material things without seeking after the things that have enduring value.
I invite you to respond back with your own ideas on how to answer Rich's question. How can it be that the poorest of the poor have a radiance and joy about them that is quite unknown in the wealthy West?
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