Welcome to the Paul Trip podcast, where pastor and best-selling author Dr. Paul David Tripp connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.

In this week's connecting clip of the week, Paul and guest Matt Martens discussed the idea of moral proximity and how we as finite beings should think about our capacity to help others.

To hear more of this conversation with Matt Martens, check out the Connecting podcast episode 34, wherever you listen to podcasts.

You can also watch the video on Paul Tripp's YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Here's Paul with Matt Martins.

Talk about your use of the phrase moral proximity. So, Augustine recognizes two concepts in his writing.

That one, my obligation is to love everyone.

But then secondly, I'm finite.

And so I can't meet everybody's needs.

And so I have to figure out as a finite, as a person of limited means,

how I allocate my limited time, my limited finances,

how I allocate that among all the needs that I see existing in society. I can watch commercials about on television, about suffering in sub-Saharan Africa.

And I can watch a news story about wars in Gaza or in Ukraine.

And I can watch stories about flooding in Florida this morning and the devastating and I can feel overwhelmed

like how do I meet all of those needs I can love meaning I can desire the good of all of those people

but I can't practically solve all those problems even if I wanted to.

And so this idea of moral proximity is a concept that moral philosophers and theologians use to help us think about how do I rank my obligation to act in the face of a world full of

need.

And it traces back even to Augustine, who says that it's a sliding scale, so to speak,

of two things, my relationship and the severity of the need.

So it's no bright lines.

I wish the Christian life was that easy. But it's a sliding scale that says my obligation to act is driven by my moral proximity, which is defined as my relationship to you and the degree of the need. So to give a practical example. If someone were to come in here right now and try to kill you, my moral proximity

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