March  2023

Paying it back — and forward

Paying it back — and forward

During the pandemic, acts of kindness seemed especially meaningful. Last spring, as Covid-19 hit Native American communities particularly hard, an interesting transatlantic outreach occurred. Donations from Ireland began appearing in a relief fund for Navajo and Hopi families, leading administrators to suspect the account had been hacked. Then they realized a cross-generational payback was underway. In 1847, Choctaw Tribe members sent $170 overseas to Ireland to help with Potato Famine relief. That generosity was never forgotten, and by May 2020, people in Ireland had contributed more than $4 million toward pandemic assistance for relatives of people who’d helped their ancestors. Many donors included an Irish proverb meaning “In each other’s shadows the people live.”The concept of paying it forward dates back to a 1784 letter by Benjamin Franklin. It also echoes Jesus’ Golden Rule:“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). How might you live out this practice today?