“As the death toll climbs from the Asian tsunami disaster, it is approaching the average daily world-wide death toll.
Using the figures published by the CIA, found here, for world population and the annual death rate, I calculated that approximately 56.5 million people die every year, 4.7 million every month, and almost 155 thousand every day. The figures are staggering. Every minute 108 people meet the Maker in whose image they were made.
Day in and day out we go on with our lives hardly noticing the death and destruction all around us. Then something like this happens and we pause and take notice. Even if the one-day death toll from the tsunami should reach 150 thousand, as many suggest it will, it will still be only a blip on the statistical screen of the march of death. But we are not talking about numbers here. We are talking about people. Individual people with hopes and dreams, with other people who loved them, each with a unique blend of talents, desires, and personality.”
John Piper quoted 2 Samuel 22:5, 31 The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . This God his way is perfect
Donald Sensing quotes latest final death toll estimates (could it be as much as 1million dead?, and links to the responses of various religious leaders and the overwhelming nature of the giving of Western nations governments and people which is now measured in Billions. This generosity and a lack of infrastructure has lead to bottlenecks as the worlds ships and planes converge on the region.
The Archbishop of Canterbury says Of course this makes us doubt God’s existence
Im not so sure. It is easy to ask “Why?” Perhaps we should ask “Why not more often?” It amazes me that there are not more catastrophes in this world.
We choose to ignore God then expect him to intervene to miraculously intervene to prevent the natural consequences of the earths make up. He gave us the wisdom to know that the sea is potentially deadly, but unlike the Pacific we never organised a proper early warning system.
We continued to ignore the poverty and lack of development of so much of the world and out petty squables between nations meant that we didn’t see it in our interest to invest in bringing some of the benefits of modern living to the Indian Ocean area.
Suddenly we have responded by giving out of our luxury to them. I hope it is not just a passing phase. Somehow I think this event has the potential to be more world-changing than 911 was. Could it be that as the first major disaster to be aired on 24Hr TV the global village really does become a reality? Could it be that significant change will result that involves us in investing in the well being of the worlds poor?
Could it be that we suddenly see the opportunity for economic growth that would arrise from spreading the benefits we experience more widely? Might we extend economic opportunity to a broader group of people? Might we actually end as more united, more aware of our interdependence? Might we decide to insist that workers producing our goods for us should be well treated and well-rewarded for their efforts? Might we begin to see the poor as part of hummanity and worthy of our help?
I don’t expect too much from this, but surely at least as Christians we can ensure that our response to this event is not short lived. Maybe actually already we are seeing signs of the still alive image of God in men and women reaching out to give so generously. Maybe God is softening our hearts. Whilst such thoughts certainly don’t remove all questions that spring from an event like this for believers surely we owe it to the dead to remember them and let this event be a turning point in the way we treat the poor.
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