Torch, Summer 1992

by Mark Klimek e don 't care whether it is a girl or a boy , as long as it is healthy ." This common statement rarely has much impact on the listener. Yet in one particular context it is often greeted by a very uncomfortable silence. Imagine that the speaker is an expectant mother who already has a six-year old child with a severe disability. The audience shifts weight nervously , searches for any way to change the conversation, and ignores the mother's concern and feelings. This is but one of countless examples of how social unease and a Jack of knowing what to say about the issue of disability isolates disabled individuals and their families . When this isolation exists in secular society it is unfortunate; when it occurs within the body of Christ it is inexcusable. The compassion that Christ displayed to the disabled of His generation calls us to action. The Bible teaches that the righteousness or value of any action depends upon the motivation by which it is performed (Luke 16:15; 1Corinthians4:2-5; Philippians 2:1-4; lThessalonians 2:1- 6) . A compassionate act is most Christlike when it flows from biblical attitudes and values. Just as physical expressions without commitment are not "love," so charitable acts prompted by carnal thinking are not compassion. The central task in expressing compassion to any group, including the disabled , is to model the character of Christ as the Holy Spirit shows us opportunity. Secular Programs Secular society develops massive programs to meet the needs of the physically and mentally challenged . Millions of tax dollars support large bureaucracies designed to provide service . The motivation for this beehive of activity includes a distinctively self– centered focus. We as Americans want to demonstrate to the world the wonderful caring spirit that we claim to possess . These efforts are evidence to the humanistic mind of the spark of divinity that is in humankind. Other philanthropic endeavors are undertaken out of a sense of guilt or duty . When the "me generation" attempts compassion , the true focus becomes "me" and "my reputation ." Secular agencies count success in terms of numbers of clients processed, services delivered , and outcomes measured, and not in terms of whether or not the disabled client has actually felt compassion . This statistical approach is predictable when the disabled person is by the humanists ' definition an inferior specimen of Homo sapiens , who as a species just recently evolved. But how different is the motivation to show compassion to the disabled when the person is viewed as a unique creature made in God 's image! Spiritually Disabled Christians often are influenced subtly by twentieth-century American culture . We tend to view intellectual and

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