CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
October 30, 2005
CONTINUE IN PRAYER FOR:
Our congregation Our nation, leaders and military
Our students Various friends, relatives and co-workers
David and James in the Navy David and Candy are coming to Houston
Nov. 5 in preparation for David getting out of the
Navy.
WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THE KING’S NEXT WEEK AFTER THE ASSEMBLY. Mary asks that we bring desserts. Directions will be sent in a separate email.
SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK AT 2 AM SUNDAY (or before you go to bed). WITH THAT EXTRA HOUR, EVERYONE SHOULD BE WIDE AWAKE AND ON TIME SUNDAY MORNING! THE COFFEE WILL BE BREWED, THE DONUTS READY. SEE YOU THEN!
HURRICANE RESPONSIBILITY
“Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone” (Zechariah 10:1).
It has been a couple of months since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, destroying much including severally damaging the city of New Orleans. From the first moments that television could broadcast the pictures of the destruction, the question of who was responsible came up. Just who is responsible for the death and destruction that occurred, and for the response to those trapped, especially in New Orleans? Another way the question is asked is “who is to blame?”
A number of interesting answers to those questions have been given. As is typical of human beings, especially today, many were trying to blame someone or something. Several in government were blamed for its inaction or unprepareness. The President came in for most of the blame, the one who is probably the least responsible, though he bears some of it. Many blaming the President did so based on philosophical, ideological, and theological differences. Some blamed him because he has not acted to stop “global warming.” Others blame him because of the slow response and he admitted that the federal government was a little slow in responding. Some were willing to blame the mayor of New Orleans, who in turned blamed everyone else. The government of Louisiana was blamed as well as the governor of Mississippi because he is aligned with the President.
Those who do this fail to see some things of importance. One, no matter how much science tries, no matter how much engineers plan, no matter how much politicians want to control the weather and nature, they can’t. It is as simple as that. They think that because they are in the position they are, that they are lord, or Caesar. What we saw in this hurricane is that Caesar failed miserably both before and after. Those who depended on Caesar to rescue or deliver them found their trust misplaced. And sad as that is, many will still look to government as savior. Politicians will encourage this with words and reckless spending. Through all of this, only the President admitted to a slow response; no other politician admitted to being just plain wrong on the whole situation. Humility and honesty are not something we often see from Caesar.
There is also individual responsibility or irresponsibility in this terrible event. People make choices, and many times those choices are poor choices. Some could not get out but others chose to stay. The events following the hurricane in part is because many made a poor choice. Out of that though have been an amazing response from people influenced by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Millions of dollars and millions in clothing and food have been distributed to many of the victims in one form or another. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Academy have donated funds and have made arrangements for employees to work and to continue to be paid until the damage stores can be rebuilt. Many of these companies preplanned for such an event as this. They were not hindered by red tape. I saw an early relief list in the paper, The first organization listed was the Red Cross. The rest were faith-based groups. People opened their homes and hearts to the needs of those suffering. One particular story is that of a sixteen year old who had a small motor boat. Over a period of several days, he had rescued some three hundred people. What a story! What an example! This is really the true story; no matter how bad a situation is, people pull together to help their neighbors. Daniel Lapin suggests that this is what God wants, people working together and in the process learning about each other (New Orleans -- If God Didn’t Do it, Who Did? http://orthodoxytoday.org).
Of course, not all has been good. Looting and stealing have also come with the storm. It has been suggested that this is a “survivor” mentality, that is, one who thinks only of himself and no one else. Hence, more looting and selfishness. Understanding the need to survive is one aspect of this, though that is not an excuse for doing it. Many of those rescued were women and children. The question to ask is where were the men? New Orleans is typical of the inner city where there is little family structure, where once again Caesar has claimed the role of provider, and has failed. And that failure is seen in a lack of community, where neighbor helps neighbor. There was understandable anger because of the slow response, but there was also an unrealistic view as well. The area affected was ninety thousand square miles, about the size of Great Britain. We live in an instant age where we think everything should be done for me immediately. People from Homestead, Florida, who were hit by a hurricane last year, sent a message to the victims of this one, according to Paul Harvey. They said that they know it is difficult. Keep this in mind, they said, that it will take a long time to put everything back together. Patience is needed. Once again, Caesar lacks patience because his citizens lack it, and that will lead to foolish mistakes.
Finally, some have in some way blamed God or hold Him responsible. For fear of offending God, one preacher called the hurricane a “natural evil.” Others have said that God is good and would not have done this. God has set up nature to act this way is still another reaction. I think we need to seriously consider what the Bible says God does. Was it a “natural evil” when the earth was flooded in Noah’s day? Was it just nature that sent the plagues on Egypt including the death of the firstborn of every Egyptian family? Was it just nature when the Red Sea parted? No. It was God who did it. In fact, God’s fear is that people would blame or brag that someone else did it. In the context of destruction, God says this: “but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this’” (Deuteronomy 32:27; see vs. 19-27 where God says “I will…” and see what He will do. See also Amos 4). “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster, I, the Lord, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). I believe God did this and that through all the suffering, redemption is in view. That is seen in the response and the trust that many in this situation had in turning in prayer to God.
So why would God do this? I don’t know if that is the best question to ask. What purposes were involved? I can’t speak for God and He has not chosen to reveal every specific event and the reasoning behind it. There are suggestions that we can get from scripture that might give us some idea. Some have suggested that the hurricane occurred because of the sins of homosexuality and gambling in the area. But is New Orleans any worst than other areas? While there is some truth in that, one needs to be careful in making such a statement. Others have blame our attack on Iraq. On the positive side, Daniel Lapin suggests it is a way to bring people together. And as is often seen in scripture, there is more than one reason. While Israel was punished for murmuring against God in the wilderness and feared going into the promised land after two years, during the thirty-eight years in the wilderness God provided for them with clothes that did not wear out and manna every day but the Sabbath. Then we look at Job. He saw what was happening to him as coming from God (see Job 2:10; 42:11). He was not told of what was happening behind the scenes between God and the accuser. We have not been told either.
As a side note, Caesar needs to read Job 38-41 and maybe they will come to grasp that it is God who is King of the earth (Psalm 29:10) and that He controls what happens, not humans.
There is a lot more that can be said. What role did the media play in all of this? Pictures are a wonderful thing and worth a thousand words, but they can be misleading. Being negative and looking to blame someone can be a dangerous idea; it could lead to ideas that even the talking heads would reject. Then there is the outright hatred of things Christian. While I do not think this reflects many people, some have stated that since these states voted a certain way, let them suffer. What they forget is that New York voted a another way and many of those “dreaded” Christians came with time, money and effort to help that city on 9/11. The so called compassionate seems to be something said but not practiced by the murmurers.
We can ignore God but He has a way of getting our attention. Will we pay attention?
George B. Mearns
There were a number of articles addressing many of these and other issues because of the hurricane. Here are few I found very helpful.
Jim McGuiggan, “Katrina and Golgotha,” www.jimmcguiggan.com
Regis Nicoll, “Katrina: soul Searching in the Aftermath,”
Michael Novak, “A Fuller Picture,” www.michaelnovak.com (copied from nationalreview.com)
Thomas Sowell, “Rebuilding New Orleans -- and America,” www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell
George Will, “The type of thinking that Katrina didn’t sweep away,” Houston Chronicle, 9/13/05