Katrina has been devastating to three states, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. That we all know.
Many are trying to fix the blame on the lack of responsiveness to the disaster in the immediate aftermath of the Hurricane.
I would suggest that we focus in on fixing the problem.
We assume responsibility and then focus on the solution.
That applies to our own lives as well.
A couple of years ago a woman filed a $1 million lawsuit against Dr Pepper. She had been chosen to participate in their halftime punt-catching promotion during a college football game. She didn't win, but it was, according to her suit, Dr. Pepper's fault.
She had been told she would receive three punts from a kick-simulation machine (catch one, $50,000; two, $250,000; all three, $1 million) and was told that the punts would come down in the general vicinity of the 50-yard line.
She missed all three because, she said, her they came down too far away: one landed on the 44, one landed on the 45, and one landed on the 42. Therefore, she argued, it was Dr. Pepper's fault that she didn't win $1 million.
Sometimes it's difficult for us to admit it's our fault.
It's difficult to admit the role we play in our failures, in our setbacks, and our sin. It's not easy to say: "I had a chance, but I blew it." Too often, instead of fixing the problem, we settle for fixing blame -- on anyone others than ourselves.
Whether it's in our relationships, our career, or our spiritual life, improvement (and, ultimately, mastery) begins with accepting responsibility for our own limitations, mistakes, and failures.
When faced with his own sin, King David said to God:
"I have sinned greatly... Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing." (1 Chronicles 21:8)
When you don't perform up to par; professionally, personally, or spiritually; you've got two choices.
You can fix the blame or you can fix the problem.
The first step in problem solving -- the first step toward wholeness; is taking responsibility.
From there, we begin moving forward.
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I have two general rules in my office (of course, the government for whom I work has a billion or so but they come down to these two most of the time) for my employees and myself: 1) Come to work and do a good job every day, and 2) When you screw up (and we all do), step up. That's one of the ways that we show maturity in our lives; the fact that we accept responsibility for making a mistake and move forward toward fixing it.
I have spent the last half an hour reading various opinions on whose fault this disaster is: Those opinions go from the people at the bottom to the God at the top! But, they're only opinions... they're not the truth. The truth is somewhere in the middle...not the "wrath of God to punish a wicked city" nor the "idiocy of living in a city that is below sea level." Truth is, people made risk-based decisions at every level of the pyramid and the decisions were not adequate to deal with the situation. I remember this same kind of controversy ten years ago when the Mississippi River overflowed almost every levee along it's length from Illinois to Mississippi. The forces of nature are powerful...they have to be to deal with the mission for which they were created!
I pray constantly for those affected by this disaster, not only those from the three states but also the families elsewhere, the relief workers, the unrelated people who are waiting to take the refugees in, and those intercessors who have spent most of their time since the events on their knees pleading with God for those involved. I will continue to do so because I know we have a God who loves us more than anything else in the world...so much so that He died for us...and He only wants what is best for us. We just have to accept it.
This is not the time for blame or deceit or retribution or political maneuvering...what it is is a time for love and help and hope and prayer. Make that your fervent wish today...that we can love more and help more and hope more and pray more. God will answer!
Today, I rely even more on the words of the Lord in Habakkuk 3:17-19. I will praise the Lord no matter the circumstances for He gives me strength to survive.
BTW, did you see the words of the 105 year old lady who was being pushed down the street holding the hand of the 5 year old daughter of her nurse? I will not get it exact as I can't find the story but, after two days in an attic, two days on an interstate island, and four days in front of the convention center, she said upon the arrival of a Marine helicopter, "They are sent from God. He will take care of us. He will always take care of us." That's the mentality and the faith to have at any age!
God bless those folks!
Jon
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