SERIES
PROJECT SHALOM
GIVERS and takers
There are only two types of people
in the world
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO
types of people in the world: those who
make gross simplistic generalisations and
those who don’t. There is, however, one
particular generalisation that proves unfailingly to be true. There are only two
types of people in the world.
On the one hand, there are those people who want to make a meaningful contribution and build the world. They are
people who place in their hierarchy of
personal values, service of the greater
good above their own self-interest. This
could mean doing whatever it takes to
create peace in a relationship, sparing no
effort or expense to secure the well-being
of their family (and anyone else in society
whom they are able to support or uplift)
in whatever way possible. Being a person
who wishes to contribute and add value
to the world entails being motivated both
to give of our personal or material resources and to make sacrifices in order to
ensure that others get what they need.
56 JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 86
On the other hand, there are people who
believe their own interests are always paramount to everyone and everything else.
They sometimes even manage to convince
themselves and others that their personal
interests and the greater good are one and
the same thing. Many people in this group
are good marketers. They are adept at appearing like givers, when in fact they manage to take – even when they appear to be
giving. This is because Z\