tough mind & tender heart

This is a conversation I've had more than once upon meeting a young, recent college grad and making small talk:
me: so what do you want to do?
I want to work for a nonprofit

Why do so many youth I meet these days want to work for nonprofits? The answer of "I want to help people" doesn't convince me. You could do that anywhere. It would make more sense to me if I heard things like "I want to alleviate homelessness by working with a company/organization/government branch that works with veterans, because in this certain part of the country I live, many of the homeless, I've noticed, are veterans and can't get jobs due to the injuries they received when they fought in Korea or Vietnam. And there is a serious disconnect between the services being offered and the needs of the vets. There's got to be some creative way to remedy this."

Of course, this is a very specific answer. Hell, I didn't know what I wanted to do after graduating grad school. I thought the answer to "saving the world" was Peace Corps. (I have nothing personal against Peace Corps, just an image I get from word of mouth.) But through unforeseen circumstances I am luckily now working in a for profit company that cares for low income housing projects. It is through working in the private sector and interacting with lawyers, brokers, property managers, government representatives, and housing consultants ... do I realize that the very things all those youth occupying wall street and college campuses and whatnot ... all those things they are protesting against, are the very things that can be powerfully fought by: landlords, lawyers, brokers, property managers, government representatives, housing consultants, etc. I think that when people say things like "I want to work for a nonprofit" it says to me that either their goal really is to work for a nonprofit (which I think is a strange goal), or their goal is to help people and they've confused that with equating it with nonprofit work. I might be more convinced if they then further explained to me the nonprofits they have personal rapport with, or have already researched and confirmed that nonprofit's financial integrity. But I would say that the impression I am getting is that more often than not, this doesn't happen. And unfortunately I've seen people in their early 20s only knowing the nonprofit world and (un)intentionally creating this divide between them and the private sector and seriously hindering opportunities for creative, positive, constructive dialogue. Social problems are so multifaceted that solutions require the involvement of all stakeholders.

At times when I meet new college grads or the type of people who, let's just say you'd see occupying wall street, I think of myself and how naive I was with all the good intentions I had. But I'd lack the smarts. I'm not saying I got everything down of course, but rather am pointing out the need for people with good intentions to not forget the importance of wisdom and reason. I think of MLK's reference to Matthew 10:16 and what Jesus was teaching ...

Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront the recalcitrance of political officials and the intransigence of the protectors of the old order. He knew that they would meet cold and arrogant men whose hearts had been hardened by the long winter of traditionalism. So he said to them, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves." And he gave them a formula for action, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." It is pretty difficult to imagine a single person having, simultaneously, the characteristics of the serpent and the dove, but this is what Jesus expects. We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart. (A Strength to Love)

So bottom line is: let's continue to challenge each other, particularly those of the younger generation, to work hard, work smart, and to look to Christ as the perfect ultimate example of LOVE to people. It is through his example that we may develop a tough mind and tender heart.