Katrina's Cause and Effect

Yesterday I felt guilty every time I thought about anything other than those affected by Hurricane Katrina. I thought, how dare I go on with my life business-as-usual, while thousands of people are standing on I-10 in New Orleans wondering whether or not they will be able to find a bite of food that is not contaminated or a drop of clean drinking water, and whether or not they'll even get out of the living hell that they're in or if they'll be shot before they do. I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of thousands of hungry and thirsty people gathered around the Superdome, who have no choice but to watch others die right in front of them. This used to be a place football fans gathered to escape from reality for a few hours, and now it has become a harsh reality with no immediate escape. It's a gathering place for thousands of homeless, stranded people who were leading very different lives a week ago. The grief is multi-layered and it extends far beyond the borders of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The heaviness I felt yesterday left me as soon as I started doing something about it. I should have known. James 2:16-17 says, If one of you says to him, "Go. I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Faith in action is incredibly fulfilling, and it will be what heals all of us.

Which will ultimately have more meaning; the cause or the effect? Many people have already assigned a great deal of meaning to the cause of the devastation. Understandably so. Hurricane Katrina has altered hundreds of thousands of lives, the long term effects of which we are only beginning to understand. But rather than consider the hurricane to be the impetus that gave way to destruction and therefore marks the end of something great, the world will be better served if we allow it to be a beginning. We are already witnessing an amazing outpouring of generosity--of time, of money, and of spirit. This will no doubt continue. And as it does, the effect will come to have greater power and meaning than the cause ever could. The tragedies in life are not what will ultimately define us. It's our reactions to them that make us who we are.

I'm inspired by the astronomical amounts of money being raised, by the thousands of volunteers who are taking time out of their day to deliver food and water to the evacuees, and by the hundreds of thousands of victims who are finding strength despite the seemingly insurmountable odds. The display of faith is infectious.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says:

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

It's time for benevolence and overwhelming love. We have the opportunity to be part of one of the largest humanitarian efforts in history. Let's make the most of it.