I'm guided by this comment from the Talmud: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
There is no doubt that the work is a balance of love and truth. Compassion must be paired with accountability. Never in our advocacy should we lead a person to believe that his or her suffering is solely caused by others. In our efforts to improve the lot of our fellow human beings, we must always lead them to an honest assessment of what they might be doing to bring the evils of the world upon themselves. It's never all of one and none of the other. If the only thing we do is reinforce their sense of victimhood, we do them and ourselves a great disservice.
I'm guided by this comment from the Talmud: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
There is no doubt that the work is a balance of love and truth. Compassion must be paired with accountability. Never in our advocacy should we lead a person to believe that his or her suffering is solely caused by others. In our efforts to improve the lot of our fellow human beings, we must always lead them to an honest assessment of what they might be doing to bring the evils of the world upon themselves. It's never all of one and none of the other. If the only thing we do is reinforce their sense of victimhood, we do them and ourselves a great disservice.