Dealing with Disaster 1-27-2010

Images of Haiti’s devastation continued to stream into our living rooms. I was tempted to change the channel hoping it would go away. Apparently others felt the same way, since it slipped from the front pages of the paper in less than two weeks and ceased to dominate the nightly news. For those in Haiti there was no option. The channel could not be changed. Not only did the images remain, but the air was filled with the stench of death and the groans of the grieving.

Two stories emerged in the aftermath. One is the story of heroism, sacrifice and miraculous rescue. The other is a story of violence, gangs fighting in the streets with machetes and broken bottles. Disasters peal back the social façade to reveal the true character of individuals and nations, whether self-sacrifice and courage, or selfishness and anger.

As rescue teams from the United States, Britain, Europe, Brazil, China, Jordan, and others work side by side, they are discovering acts of heroism and sacrifice by local Haitians. Sasha Kramer works for SOIL, an organization in Haiti that seeks indigenous solutions to environmental problems. She described Haitians helping one another, sharing food and directing rescue workers to others with worse injuries than their own. She said, “In the darkest of times, Haiti has proven to be a country of brave, resilient and kind people. It is that behavior that is far more prevalent than the isolated incidents of violence.”

We will all experience disaster. It might come in the form of a natural catastrophe like the one that has pummeled Haiti. It might come more quietly and personally as a terminal disease. It could come in a car crash with the sudden smash of glass and metal, towering flames that consume a home with its lifetime of belongings, a pink slip signaling the loss of a job, the betrayal of a spouse, or the death of a child. Disasters come in many forms, but, sooner or later, they come to us all.

Jesus concluded the Sermon On the Mount with a story that reflects this truth. He described one man who built his house on sand. Another established the foundations of his home on rock. When the storm came, the house built on sand collapsed. The house built on rock survived. “Everyone,” Jesus said, “who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24).

When the disaster hits, it is too late to build the foundations. Foundations must be built before the storm comes. We are all building the foundations of our character each and every day, by the little things we do. When we cheat and lie, we are building on sand that will collapse in the tough times. When we practice Jesus’ instructions contained in the Sermon on the Mount (truthfulness, forgiveness, daily acts of compassion, sacrifice and faith) we are building on the rock that will carry us through.