The gist of what I read basically said to "do something for someONE who CANNOT ever do anything in return for you"..... the example the writer gave was the person of "Oskar Schindler." If any of you have watched the movie "Schlinder's List" made by Steven Spielberg, then you know who I mean. For those of you who haven't let me introduce you.
Here's a look at a man, who basically SAVED by all accounts, nearly 1300 Polish Jews from extermination during World War II. He brought them to his factory to work for him, by many and all means, buying them, bribing officials with money or jewelry, thus saving their lives. I mean look at the photo. Look at it good.
He wasn't a great looker. I mean Liam Neeson who plays Schindler in the movie is much cuter I think! HA!
He wasn't even Jewish yet he risked his life for Jewish people. In fact Oskar Schindler was born a Catholic. He was a WELL KNOWN "womanizer," an alcholic,he was a member of the Nazi party, and he had gone bankrupt several times in his life.
This guy had some serious "life" issues. Yet, he changed history for thousands of Jews. Because he left a legacy. He cared for people. People "who could never pay him back, people who could never do anything for him." Interesting.
Why would he do this? Why would someone risk their life, for people who couldn't benefit him? I wonder at this. It has to be a "God thing." Something compelled him to go out on a limb and help these people who couldn't help themselves.
While looking at some various research for this post, I came across this on a site called "Oskar Schindler Rescuer of Jew" and I quote.......
"No one will ever know exactly what made this complex man do what no German had the courage to do. A large part of the fascination of Schindler is that not even those who admire him most can figure out his motives."
Hummm........motives again. Yes that is convicting isn't it. What motivates us? Sometimes we do things, help people, or whatever, out of selfish motives. We act all holy and deserving when the praise comes. But what IF we did it for the right reasons. Like, what if we ACTUALLY didn't do things, to draw people to us.....or to a church, what if we did things to draw people to JESUS? I mean that should be the motivating force in all of us anyway. Yet, I have noticed and heard, how we do these things, good things, charitable things, and it's to be in the front of men, or it's to spotlight our cause, our church or whatever. That's all great and I am glad for people that do good things and crusade causes that are worthy. I am all for that.
But what if.......we left ourselves out of it? What if there was no recognition, no awards, no trumpets,no photos. No pats on the back. Would we still do it? What really motivates us? Do we do these things for people or do we do them for US? This has bothered me greatly. I have had to check my own heart over and over on this matter and I believe that by doing this it will help me and it will help us all.
I have a friend, who has "picked people up" up off of the side of the road for as long as I have known her. I have continually warned her not to do this, only because I fear for her safety. Yet I know why she does it.
She has told me why......."Joyce, I know how it feels to be broke down."
I agree, it's a drag. This friend of mine is a widow, and she champions the "down and outers" of this world in all sorts of things she does for people but especially in this way. Why? What motivates her?
Because "she's been there." She knows how it feels. And guess what? Most of these people she will never meet again, not on earth anyway and they can't repay her. They don't even know her. She doesn't leave her "calling card"........she doesn't tell them..."visit my church" (although she has brought some of them to church) she isn't saying....give me gas money. She just helps them without expecting them to do anything for her.
This my friends, is what I am talking about.
This is what Oskar Schindler did, and Corrie Ten Boom and countless others during the war when Jews were being killed. They risked their lives, their fortunes, their futures for people who were not their same religion, not their class, and not their nationalities in some cases.
What brings a human to be like this. I have to say......I have pondered this and pondered this and it HAS to be the "love of God." Corrie Ten Boom.......who wrote "The Hiding Place" who herself along with her family was imprisoned in Holland for hiding Jews in their home WAS a Christian, she knew that the Jews were "God's chosen people." But Oskar Schindler wasn't even close to claiming to be a Christian by any sort and IF he could do this.........why can't we? And when we do the littlest of things.......why must we put our tag on it? THAT I don't understand.
This I found on the "Jewish Virtual History" page, it says "Perhaps the question is not why he did it, but rather how could he not. And perhaps the answer is unimportant. It is his actions that matter now, testimony that even in the worst of circumstances, the most ordinary of us can act courageously. If Oskar Schindler, flawed as he was, did it, then so might we, and that is reason enough to hope."
Very awesome thought. "It is his actions that matter now, testimony that even in the worst of circumstances, the most ORDINARY of us can act courageously."
You don't have to be a HERO to become a HERO. You don't have to be a big name.....to be a big name in God's eyes. Do you see this?
I have, and it has changed my perspective on things I am doing and have done and will do in the future. And for now, I will be getting out my son's copy of "Schindler's List" and watch it again because I haven't seen it in years and didn't pay close enough attention at the time even because I thought the movie was so oppressive.
Still there is scene in the end of the movie that haunts me. You can't forget it.
Schindler is leaving his factory because the Russians are coming and the workers present him with this ring they made that is inscribed "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Well, then he gets convicted that he didn't do enough and could have saved more people and he says "This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this."
Ouch! Another lesson. Why do we have so much junk, when we could get rid of some of it and help someone out? Sell it off and help someone in the Sudan.
This movie serves a point regardless of all the drama in it, and I warn you I think there is sex scene in it at some point. However it shows the life of a man, who was lacking in morals yet was someone made a HUGE DIFFERENCE in a entire race of people.
AS a result of him doing what he did, today there are 7,000 descendants of Schindler's Jews living in US and Europe, and many in Israel. Before the Second World War, the Jewish population of Poland was 3.5 million. Today there are between 3,000 and 4,000 left.
Statics do not lie.
ALL of us can make a difference..Oskar Schindler did. It's written in history.
We can change this world too even in small ways.
Oh and let's keep our name out of it and glorify GOD instead.
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