Reading the current edition of HL weekly edition, I couldn't help but have mixed feelings about why such a question would be thought of, but critically thinking about it, I believe such a scenario or maybe almost similar already played out in the world, as it is our core believes as Christians that Jesus came to the world to die for our sins so we can be saved, imagining myself as a mere mortal taking such huge responsibility in this current world to die for the people’s cause like there is no other hope for the people to get a chance at life of happiness, without starving, dying of preventable diseases or poverty. It would be relevant to look at this difficult decision in more details and analyze all the perspectives.
The question is straightforward though, yet deep in its implications, Sacrificing myself would rid the world of hunger, poverty, and diseases, and the rest of the globe would be guaranteed a good and happy life. This is among the most significant decisions one can ever make, one’s own life against the lives of billions.
Without thinking too much, everyone knows what the right thing to do is even though it is not as easy as it might look right, so for me, it will be a yes, exchanging my life for billions of better lives as it seems to yield a positive balance in favor of people’s lives, after all, we often make small sacrifices for others donating to charity, volunteering our time, or helping a stranger. But this time, the obligation extends? So the question arises, should there be a limit to what we should be willing to give up for the greater good?
Though it is a very difficult decision as no one willingly surrenders their life, but it's all about sacrifice, to make the decision easy, I would consider heroes throughout history, individuals who have sacrificed their lives for causes they believed in, like soldiers in wartime, but most of these acts typically involves immediate, tangible threats and probably no better choice at the point of making this decision
The world we live in is no doubt filled with a lot of people living in pain, suffering, war, etc, thinking about all the bad happenings in the world and knowing that the solution lies in my hands, not willing to offer this sacrificial solution, I doubt I would be able to live a peaceful life anymore, as I would be living a life filled with guilt anytime the news of bad happening keeps on rising, so I think these are what would make me a decision. I also need assurance that the good life after is certain.
Exchanging one's life so that the rest of the world could be saved would seem like a fair trade, but the truth is this can only happen in movies, the exchange is never that simple. The death of a person is a lasting loss as this will cause pain and grief to my family, especially being a young mother, my loss will be a deprivation to family, friends, and even society. So I hope my family gets compensated before I make this huge decision then would I be at peace knowing I made the right choice.
All images used in this post are mine.