Altruism: Many Kinds of Kindness

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ -Matthew 25:37-40 Dr. Soni Werner takes this well-known passage from the Gospel of Matthew and uses it to explore the concept of altruism. Looking at examples from her own life, from worldwide efforts, from literature, and from psychological studies, Werner conveys ideas about applying these ways that Jesus asks us to serve our fellow human beings. Then, using theological insights from Emanuel Swedenborg, she digs even deeper to help us understand ways that we can relieve spiritual hunger, thirst, estrangement, nakedness, sickness and imprisonment as well as the physical forms of these afflictions. Werner guides us to see the many kinds of kindness that we have to choose from to make the most of this life we’ve been given. In reaching out to the people around us, we can grow closer to them and closer to God at the same time.