Wednesday 23 January 2002

Pic of the day: That's definitely not a smile.

Quarrel with God

I am not a happy camper, not by a long shot. I am quite ticked off. God, you're not doing a good job of this. You should encourage people who try to be nice. Not make unreasonable demands on them.

I was sitting on the commuter bus home today, thinking of the suffering in the world and weeping. But even though I weep for the starving, you can bet I won't help them. There are limits. If you first start giving away your money to strangers, there is no end to it, and they will eat you alive like those starving sicko cows of Pharaoh, and be just as thin as before.

I'm so not going to reduce my standard of living to world average. If that means I'm going to Hell, well that's just too bad. There comes a point where you have to put your foot down and say: "God, YOU are the one who ought to save your damned world yourself. It's not like it would cost you an arm and a leg to feed the poor if you think that's so important."

***

I was thinking about how there is so much starvation and suffering in the world, and I continue to play Dark Age of Camelot and eat fresh buns and shrimp salad and stuff. Of course that's not fair. Some of the people who starve can't help it, they just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been me, and then I would definitely prefer that people give me a little food instead of playing online games. I would not think it very reasonable that they live in luxury (as it would look from my point of view) while I starved to death.

But now the roles are reversed. They are starving, and I am having fun. Well, I would if I had been as dumb as most people are, and not thought about anything outside my little radius. If I compared myself to the rich instead of the poor, the way other people do, I'd feel all righteous and deserving of all good that could possibly come to me in the afterlife. It's not like I'm some kind of criminal or something.

But because I just happen to be a bit smarter than your average bear and spend a little time now and then thinking about the world outside my cubicle, I'm faced with this. I'm living in luxury compared to the world, and ought to cut out the luxury so I can feed the starving. It is nothing more than reasonable.

But I don't want to do that. I say it's not fair that the good guys should have to do more and more and more until they die on a cross, while the morons keep having all the fun. And they can't even seem to enjoy it!

***

I think it is grossly unfair that I should go to Hell for not showing mercy on the poor, while other people go to Heaven just because they are too dumb and selfish to even notice that there is a frigging problem! What kind of message is that sending, I just ask?

I just try to make this world a little better, to make a few people happy (and myself too in the process). I didn't mean to sign up for a job as savior! Would it really be such a big deal to let it rain manna from Heaven again, if starvation is a problem? Instead of asking us to share with the poor. It's not like the poor ever did anything for us, did they? Where were the poor in 1812 when my ancestors were starving under the British blockade? Where were the poor in 1940 when the Nazis invaded Norway and my parents had to live off potatoes and rotabagos and salt herring for 5 years?

I don't want to be a messiah. I just want to be some guy that makes some people think and some people smile. Is that so much to ask for?

With this kind of standards, dear God, you can look forward to a pretty lonesome eternity in Heaven, I can promise you that. You better be a bit more accepting of people. After all, if I can, so can you. It's not that hard.

Help me out here, readers. Feed the starving for free.