Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, on 26th August 1910, Mother Teresa was a world renown catholic nun who dedicated the best part of her life to improving the lives of human beings all over the world. She held the view that Christians should be involved in activities that provide solutions to the global problems experienced in the world today.
In one of her famous quotes, Mother Teresa noted that all the rewards that she received on earth were only important if they could help her to assist the worlds most needy people. It is this maxim that guided her charity work all over the world, as is documented in modern history.
Her worldview revolved around the theme of love. Teresa believed that if we loved one another, the world would be a very peaceful place, we would not experience most of the atrocities that bedevil our world today, and that is why when asked what the world would do to promote world peace after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, she said ‘Go home and love your family’. This, she believed is the beginning of world peace, which is a precursor of prosperity in any nation.
The work of Mother Teresa, is a clear testimony of her conviction to the service to humanity. For over 45 years, Mother Teresa ministered to the poor, the orphaned, the dying as well as the sick, through her foundation, The Missionaries of Charity, that spread all over the world. Her view of poverty seemed to be unconventional. In her Nobel Lecture, she stated that while physical hunger was a major challenge all over the world, the West seemed to suffer a more serious form of hunger, that she noted to be the feeling of being unwanted, unloved, terrified, as well as thrown out of the society, such level of hopelessness, required much attention, which motivated her charity work, that spreads a message of peace and love amongst humankind. Just to emphasize on her commitment to helping mankind, Missionaries of Charity, which she founded had spread to over 133 countries , with over five thousand nuns, all with a message of giving freely and wholeheartedly to the poorest of the poor.
In the article, Love and Knowledge of God in the Human Life of Christ, Wilkins’ notes that knowledge of God, as manifested in the life of Christ is an important milestone in the recognition of the need for service to humanity. The author notes that it’s through the knowledge of God that man is able to see the manifestation of God in fellow humans, which should trigger the need for the service to humankind. This is because, man is created in the Image of God, therefore, service to man, is by extension service to God. The author therefore seems to agree with the worldview of Mother Teresa that all is in vain if man does not help fellow man, his service to God is in Vain, since God himself is seen through man (Wilkins,2000)
The works of Diana Bass, in the article by Childress , seem to support the Mother Teresas world view. Bass, in a series of literary work argues that Christianity should provide solutions and not become the problem in modern society (Childress,2012). Take a look at the media today. You will notice many televangelists who preach the message of prosperity. They will tell their listeners to ‘plant a seed’ and expect a miracle. This is a clever way of robbing the masses and has created a vicious cycle of poverty and disillusion. Followers spend so much on these preachers and end up becoming poor. This is a classic illustration of how religion becomes a problem instead of creating solutions to the problems that we experience today.
Bass, therefore attempts to poke holes at the role of religion in finding solutions to the global problems today. The article seems to agree with the works of Mother Teresa that Christians should be at the forefront of assisting the needy in the society, and should do so selflessly, since such, is a service to God (Knight,1998).
Perhaps, the most striking article is the work of Bockmuehl, titled Hope and Optimism in Straitened Times. It's argued that the world today is quite pessimistic in the wake of insecurity, disease, poverty, terrorism and many other atrocities, therefore the role of Christians in bringing hope and optimism in the face of these issues cannot be over emphasized. This resonates very well with the work of Mother Teresa who believed in service to the poor, bringing hope to the hopeless as well as developing optimism of a bright future for all (Bockmuehl,2012).
In the 33 years that Jesus Christ lived on the earth, the Bible documents many acts of kindness that he did. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, gave hope to the hopeless, died for mankind, and resurrected to go create a home for the faithful. Mother Teresa, is also adored for her activities on earth, that helped transform the lives of many people, fed the poor and continue to give hope to the poor.
References
Wilkins, J (2000) Love and Knowledge of God in the Human Life of Christ. University of St. Thomas
Childress,K. (2012) Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. HarperOne, 304 PP·
Bockmuehl, M (2012. Hope and Optimism in Straitened Times. Pro Ecclesia Vol. Xxi, No. Ι
Knight (1998) "The Necessity of God Incarnate," the International Journal For Philosophy of Religion
Wedel, K. A (2012) Permission to Dissent: Civil Religion and the Radio Western, 1933-1960. Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, Vol. 22, Issue 1, pp. 31-52
Chambers Biographical Dictionary (2007). "Jesus Christ" Adapted from
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.com/entry/chambbd/jesus_christ
