Compassion’s Compulsion
Albert Schweitzer once wrote, “The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.”
Schweitzer was one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Bach and often gave recitals in cathedrals all over Europe. His philosophical speeches and writings made him famous throughout his lifetime. Yet he chose to become an accomplished doctor and research scientist, in order to spend most of his long life as a missionary doctor in the tiny village of Lambarene, in the Gabon province of French Equatorial Africa.
With the world at his feet, Dr Schweitzer chose to turn his back on both fame and fortune in order to build a hospital for the ‘forgotten people’ on the banks of the Ogowe River.
The world now remembers him not for his achievements in music, nor for his books or even the Nobel Peace Prize he won. He is remembered because he chose to share his life generously with those in need.
