Dad Said it Best
By Estelle Rodis-Brown
We are not to throw away those things which can benefit our neighbor. Goods are called good because they can be used for good: they are instruments for good in the hands of those who use them properly. ~Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD)
I had never heard of this alliterative quote before, but I stumbled upon it after learning about a local hospital that donated three new hospital beds to the neighborhood’s college nursing lab. As teaching tools, they will help nursing students to gain practical experience using the types of beds they will find while treating patients in a contemporary hospital setting.
In turn, the nursing lab donated their previous three older-model (but fully functional) hospital beds to MedWish International, a not-for-profit organization that saves lives and the environment by repurposing discarded medical supplies and equipment to provide humanitarian aid to people in need.
This passing along of goods required the right people in the right places with a shared ethic to bring about the best good from these goods. This story illustrates that goods can only be used for good when people take the time and care to turn a potential throw-away into an instrument for good.
The philosophy driving these actions goes much further than the Depression-inspired frugality that my Dad espoused. It doesn’t just elevate the virtue of thriftiness, as echoed in “waste not, want not” or “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,” as my father enjoyed repeating. These maxims remind us to make the most of whatever resources we have, to mend, repair and repurpose material goods in tough times, whenever the future looks uncertain.
The early Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria points to something deeper and more joyous, a richness and generosity borne from a shared sense of a higher purpose: recognizing the value of goods to do an even greater good. Even if we may think we have nothing to offer, let’s keep our eyes open to these possibilities and the good gifts all around us, especially those worth sharing.
While we all know it’s good to pay it forward, Clement of Alexandria said it best: Things which can benefit our neighbor are instruments for good in the hands of those who use them properly.
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