Wednesday, June 27, 2012

... but WHY?

As I was exercising this morning my mind was wondering on the topic of natural disasters and the question of "Why, if there was a God, would he allow these things to happen. "

I should start by saying I would never presume to know what God is thinking or had in mind at any given moment. It's my opinion that anyone who tells you they can, are probably trying to sell you something.

What I can share is my observations on the ground after another disaster, Hurricane Katrina.

I made several trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after that storm. The first, just days after. The scope of that sort of thing can bring on shock to even someone who didn't live there. The loss of property and life that I witnessed didn't cause me to question my faith but it absolutely left me thinking "Why? What could God have possibly been thinking here?"

After a few days though, I began to see a bigger picture taking place.
One day I found myself standing in a food line. I and a 100 others would get a lunch that day because of some people that had driven from Texas and set up a "chuck wagon" in a church parking lot. These people were volunteers. This trip actually cost them money and they would be sleeping on a sleeping bag on someone's floor that night.

 I got to talking with those around me in line. I was standing between a doctor and a convenience store clerk with his family. Their homes had all been destroyed. At that moment, (and for days before and a few after) we were all socio-economically equals. The doctor might have had $100 in his wallet and lots of credit cards but there was no place within a 30 minute drive to buy anything.
At that moment, everyone's net worth was what they could do to help others.
... and they were helping others.

Armies of people (at there own expense) remembered their humanity and descended on that area to help complete strangers. One day my group was helping an elderly couple to remove their destroyed possessions from their home. Word came to us that a neighbor needed help clearing some downed trees from their yard so they could reach the back of their house.

4 of us grabbed chainsaws (we had brought a trailer with every possible tool we thought we might need), went down the street and spent the next 3 hours in 98 degree heat and near 100% humidity cutting pine trees and hauling them out of the way. When we had finished, the homeowner came outside (she had been in her home ripping out moldering drywall) with her checkbook and ask how much she owed us. Baffled, we told her we were just there to help. She shook her head and ask what tree service we were with. When we each told her what we did for a living (we all were white collar professionals who had only just met that week) she got this far-a-way look and said in a deadpan "This is what Christians are."

It was clearly a "moment" for her but the real lesson there was for us because (IMHO) that is what Christians are supposed to be. Not out picketing to make someone's life miserable. Not trying to force others to follow your beliefs through legislation and politics. We're supposed to help each other. Actually physically help.
I was told later by a member of the church we had taken over as a base of operations and were living in, that the presence of all of these volunteers had changed that congregation. It was a very affluent congregation whose members had always been very ready to whip out their checkbooks when a "need" was brought to their attention … but the idea of putting your whole life on hold to just go and do for others in need (more then half the church members had their homes destroyed or flooded) had become foreign to them. Now, they got it. Being a "Christian" wasn't like joining a country club. It was a call to service.

The following spring, 10s of thousands of teens/early 20's traveled to the Gulf Coast on spring break. For the first time in decades, they were there not to immerse themselves in selfish hedonism but to selflessly help strangers.

I go back to my first point.
I have absolutely no idea why God would allow such destruction to rain down on folks. I can say that one of the results from Katrina was 10's of thousands (if not 100's of thousands) of people waking up and realizing the importance of not living just for yourself. It was also a wake up call to Christians who had fallen asleep at the wheel. Who had gotten comfortable and complacent and were willing to overlook a the people around them who could use a little help. Hurricane Katrina made it impossible to overlook the need.

I suspect these devastating fires will have that same effect in those communities. In the coming days and weeks there is going to be a need for a small army of people who realize we're all in this together. It will cause people to come outside the safety and complacency of their own 4 walls to help those who have lost theirs. Caring for what happens to neighbors and strangers NOT because some agency paid them to do so but because they share the same biology, joys and pain.

If it is all a just a lesson it's a pretty harsh on. Generally speaking though, we humans are a pretty stubborn and self absorbed lot. We get really good at ignoring the advice that would spare us from pain in the first place and then repeating the mistakes and folly we could have learned from the easier life lessons.
Some of the most important lessons I learned as a kid were only learned through pain and loss. I suppose that doesn't change just because we grow older.

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