Acuity of Non-indifference

“Sensitivity and the acuity of non-indifference”

As the readers of this blog know, I like words, especially the sound and rhythm of them. And so this phrase from ’Putting God Second' by Rabbi David Hartman caught my attention and demanded that I figuratively roll my tongue around it over and over in my head.

But as I did this, I began to consider just exactly what this phrase was saying to me. In effect it raises the ante for me of the Golden Rule [Luke 6:31], which simply asks that you treat others as you would want to be treated. Hartman goes just that little bit farther. He posits that we should be aware what the other needs before those needs are visible or voiced, perhaps even before they are realized by the other. We should not be indifferent to others, but both sensitive to what they need, with the sharpness of compassion.

How many times have you wondered why you have had to tell someone else what you needed or have felt like the ‘Little Red Hen’, that no one was willing to help you? I suggest that this is the sort of thing that seeing with both ‘sensitivity and the acuity of non-indifference’ will overcome.

Hartman then adds a third point into the mix. He suggests that we are meant to ‘go beyond’ that basic response. Once again, we are challenged to ask with that acuity of non-indifference, to be like the the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37, where he who was the outsider, the rejected one, the foreigner, was the one who showed compassion and was not indifferent to the needs of the unfortunate victim of the robbers. He not only looked after the victim’s immediate needs, but took it that couple of steps farther by making sure he was going to be safe and looked after… AND as if that wasn’t enough, pledging that he would be back is a couple of days to check on the injured man.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is an example of the wisdom of 3000 years ago coinciding with this wisdom of our time. It is a perfect example of someone going beyond that which is required, taking his time and resources to concern himself with the other and to make sure that things continue to be OK. It is no longer enough just to react to others needing food, clothing or a safe place to be. Hartman too challenges us to go beyond the immediate, to look to the tomorrows and to make sure that they are looked after as well.

Ask yourself when the last time was you actually cared enough to ‘go beyond’? You might be surprised at the answer!

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