In the world’s schema of things, survival of the fittest is the rule. In God’s schema, the survival of the weakest is the rule. God always stands on the side of the weak, and it is there, among the weak, that we find God. Being big-hearted is predicated on precisely rising above self-interest and being willing to sacrifice our own interests for the good of others and the good of the larger community. Fr. Rolheiser writes that we are big-minded exactly to the extent that we are sensitive to the wider picture and can integrate into our thinking the needs, wounds, and ideologies of everyone, not just those of their own kind. That’s what it means to understand rather than simply be intelligent. When we are petty, we cannot understand beyond our own needs, wounds, and ideologies. On our best days, our hearts and minds are more open, more willing to embrace widely, accept differences, and sacrifice self-interest for the good of others. On our best days, we are gracious, big-hearted, and understanding. Sadly, almost everything in our world today tempts us away from this. There can be no peace, no world community, no real brother and sisterhood, and no real church community as long as we do not define ourselves as, first, citizens of the world and only second, as members of our own tribe. Admittedly, we need to take care of our own families, countries, and selves. Justice asks that we also treat ourselves fairly. We best serve our own when we serve others. We are most fair to ourselves when we are fair to others. Only by being good citizens of the world are we good citizens in our own countries. Putting ourselves first goes against the Gospel. It’s also a poor strategy: Jesus tells us that, in the end, the first will be the last.