In the past couple of weeks I’ve been able to start cycling again. It is one of my favourite things to do, and we live near some incredible bike paths. Since I’m riding in a new country, I’ve been reading about biking in Dublin a lot lately. Many of the articles I’ve read have comment sections full of motorists complaining about those cyclists who don’t obey the rules of the road.
There is almost an attitude among some drivers that, “if they don’t follow the rules of the road, then I don’t need to yield to them in any way whatsoever.”
There are a number of problems with this of course, chief among them would be the person on a bike is at much greater risk than the person sitting in their car who decides they’d like to play a game of chicken.
Another big issue is that while some cyclists do not obey the rules of the road and are a danger on the road, most cyclist are extremely cautious and careful while sharing space with motor vehicles. Just like some drivers are reckless and don’t obey the rules of the road…but most are.
We do have a tendency to paint with broad strokes. We hear one or two stories about a certain country, profession, whatever, and then paint that everyone else in that category with the same brush.
Over the past few weeks here in Ireland, there have been some news stories that have cast a bad light on the work of charities. Sadly there are people across the world working in charities and churches that are dishonest, and who are in it more for what they can get out of it, than what they can give to those they are supposed to be serving.
Likewise, there are people in your industry…perhaps your company, or your neighbourhood that are dishonest, lazy, and not a lot of fun to be around.
I think it easier for us to look at one person in our company, or our neighbourhood, and say, “they are the problem.”
However, when it is an industry, or an organisation that we are not as familiar with, we default to, “They are all like that.”
Think about it, when do the heads of charities, or churches or community organisations, make the news? When something goes wrong.
Sure, their might be a human interest story showing the good work they are doing occasionally, but generally, those types of stories are in the news one day, and forgotten the next. Scandals on the other hand have staying power.
All that to say this…there are some great people out there doing amazing things in our world, for a lot less money than most with their expertise would be willing to work for. When news about dishonest people running charities hits the news, it makes them angry too. Plus they have to deal with the added stress of knowing their work is likely to take a financial hit as well as people become reluctant to give.
As I mentioned last week, today is #GivingTuesday. While we’ve just come through Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, today is a great time to recalibrate and do something for a great cause. I hope you’ll take the time today to give a financial gift to your favourite organisation, your church, or a charity dealing with an issue that you are passionate about.
Thank you for your generosity!
(If you don’t have an organisation that jumps right to mind for you, I hope you’ll consider a financial gift towards our family’s upcoming church plant on Dublin’s Northside, or click on the banner above for some other ideas.)