We are a city on a hill

This excerpt from John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" was recently used during the inauguration of Harvard's 28th president, Drew Gilpin Faust. Based off a passage in the bible (Matthew 5:13-16), Winthrop suggests that God holds us accountable for our deeds, esp. when placed in positions of leadership.

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken ... we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God.... We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going.

I find this view still valid today, no matter our "status" - government leader, corporate CEO, relief worker, labourer, doctor, teacher, military man, homemaker, parent, student.... Each of us is called to be a faithful steward of what we have (or have been given), and this includes being an informed and compassionate global citizen. Consider "to whom much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48).

A little conscience goes a long way

It's great to be proud of the company we keep:

Nokia today has donated 350,000 euros (~USD $510K)to the Finnish Red Cross to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. There is an urgent need in the South East Asian country for housing, and the donation will allow for the provision of thousands of temporary shelters as well as a significant amount of tools and materials to help in the rebuilding of homes. The Red Cross says that in rural parts of the country up to 95 percent of all homes were destroyed.

“The devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar has been truly shocking. We wanted to move as quickly as possible to help provide relief for those affected, so the Red Cross was a natural choice,” said Martin Sandelin, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Involvement, Nokia.

Nokia press release, May 8, 2008

You and I can make a difference. With our support, local NGOs expect to contribute almost 4x the USD $200K committed by the Singapore government. A list of Singapore donation centers is available here.