Divine Providence

Today’s excerpt from Our Daily Bread features an entry titled Greedy Birds. The author describes her observation of how the hummingbirds she is feeding using a feeder would fight for positions at whatever place one of their neighbours is using. Knowing that all the feeding stations are equal, she shake her head at their greediness. But then it occurred to her that she is very much like those hummingbirds, that she often wanted the place that someone else has, even though she says she knows all good things come from the same source – God – and that his supply will never run out. The entry ends off with the quote “Resentment comes from looking at others; contentment comes from looking at God.”

 

I found the odb entry featuring the message about divine providence and being contented with one’s place in life comforting. I do like the message about divine providence in Christianity. In fact, one of my favourite verse in the bible is Matthews 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

 

I like the message of divine providence because it gives me a sense of peace that I need not have to strive so hard in life in order to obtain the necessities for my living. And as of yet, I haven’t experienced such drastic circumstances of dire poverty and want as to cause me to deny this notion of divine providence in my life. I do have my parents to thank for that I might lead life comfortably without having to worry about such things. I am not sure about my job prospects though because I haven’t been doing too well in law school, and it does cause me some measure of concern about my future livelihood if I can’t function well in law. But right now, I am keeping that stoic demeanor regarding things in life, and keeping calm and moving on.

But what about those who do experience such difficult circumstances where they are unable to provide for themselves or for their families? When I help out as a volunteer at the Meet the People’s session in my neighbourhood, I do encounter individuals and families in Singapore who are in dire financial straits. Some of the residents go there to seek financial aid and food vouchers. There is a collecting point at the resident centre where the Meet the People’s session is held to dispense food items like rice and canned foods.

 

The most extreme case I have encountered at the Meet the People’s session thus far is an eccentric elderly man in his 60s, who talked about how he ate from a dustbin outside the supermarket containing decomposing vegetables for nearly a decade. He had few teeth left in his mouth, which he says is due to the effect of eating those decomposing vegetables. I was wondering whether he really had to resort to such means in order to feed himself. Could he himself, or anyone around him, have helped him better? The MP applied for financial assistance for the man with the community development council when he heard the case.

 

I guess it troubles me when I know of people experiencing difficult circumstances. Does divine providence hold true for these people? I guess if we do know about it, those of us who are well-off should do our best to help those less well-off. It’s a sort of empathy and charity of spirit that I believe Christianity preaches, and perhaps, divine providence works through human means.