I’d like us to take a few minutes and contemplate the phenomena we classify as “disasters”. Dictionary.com defines disaster as “a calamitous event, esp. one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure”. So a disaster is not the event itself but its effects on the lives of people. A prototype aircraft experiences mechanical failure and the pilot ejects and the plane crashes in the desert. This is no disaster. The same aircraft comes down in a populated area. Now we have a different story. Loss of life and property categorizes it as a disaster. Seasonal rains cause a river to overflow its banks, bringing much needed topsoil and nutrients to the adjacent lands, which is very beneficial to the environment. The same event now occurs along a path where a community has sprung up and thrived. Businesses are flooded, buildings are inundated, and lives may be lost. Once again the same forces of nature have resulted in a devastating situation.
As a species, mankind has opted to either ignore or live with the inevitability of likely having to experience the forces of nature. We never seem to grasp the notion that no matter the event in our part of the world - whether hurricane, flood, tornado, famine, wildfire, earthquake, volcano, or avalanche – they constantly recur. It’s not a case of once-and-you-are-disaster-proofed. We even create protective structures to prevent disaster; levees, wave breakers, snow fences. We all dream of living on the coast, along a riverbank, out on the open plain, or in the mountains. And why wouldn’t we? God has created a magnificent environment for us to live in and enjoy. We want to experience the beauty in this earth. We have enough strife in our lives just trying to eke out a living. The fact is that we should never forget that nowhere are we immune to the ravages of this earth. We do not live in Eden any more. Something that is easily overlooked in the story of man’s fall because of his disobedience to God is the fact that the earth also fell under the same curse. We see this in Genesis 3 where it states:
17Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
Romans 8:22 alludes to this fact in this passage: 22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
So you see, disaster isn’t something that happens to someone else somewhere else in the world, nor is it the “wrath of God” or “God’s judgment on mankind” for specific sins committed by man. It’s all a part of sin in the world and the redemption process. Disasters will only cease when sin in this world is finally conquered and the Kingdom of Heaven is established on earth. Until that time comes, what plans have you made to mitigate the effects of a natural occurrence directly affecting your life?
See you next month,
Jeff Campbell
Disaster Response Coordinator
East Central District
