Rescuers pulled a teenager out of the rubble in
Nepal's capital today, five days after an earthquake struck. CreditNavesh
Chitrakar/Reuters[1]
One who is slow to anger is better
than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a
city. Proverbs 16:32 (NLT)
Workers are fighting around the
clock in Nepal to extract trapped people from collapsed buildings. A teenage boy was pulled from the rubble Wednesday and the watching crowd broke out
in cheers and applause. It was a compassionate
riot!
The Nepalese people are thankful
amidst tragedy.
Meanwhile different riots breaking-out
in Baltimore, marches and demonstrations in Washington and New York are a
spectacle of quite another tone….there is anger.
In the middle of an American tragedy
– the death of persons in the custody of police – American forbearance is all
but forgotten.
What is the difference between
what is happening in Nepal, and what is going on in America from Ferguson to
Washington? It is the distance between
anger and compassion.
Both anger and compassion are
strong emotions, and they are separated by light years in cause and effect.
Anger tends to destroy when unchecked (as in the street rioting and looting we
saw on Baltimore streets this week.)
But sometimes they are
connected. Sometimes anger is driven by
compassion, as in the national response in America after the bombing of Pearl
Harbor. Compassion for lost souls always
evokes anger, and rightfully, when it is caused by power grabs and oppression.
But there is almost nothing more
obscene than rioting and looting when the (supposed) provocation is righteous
anger over oppression. This goes far
beyond two wrongs not making a right; there’s nothing noble or
epically-righteous about breaking into a mall to steal toilet paper or a
TV.
It’s simply the release of
emotion over pent-up frustration. It’s
making somebody…anybody pay for the hurt we feel over injustice.
In our culture American anger
comes too quickly these days. We are
becoming the new caricature of people who claim to be peace-loving, and can’t
wait to provoke a good riot.
Whatever happened to the virtues
of patience and due process? A mob can
be mighty, but uncontrolled temper can destroy quicker than most anything.
Here’s a bit of advice for all of
us from the old Preacher, Solomon (a pretty smart guy) who said:
Control your
temper, for anger labels you a fool. Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NLT)
For You Today
If you’re
itching to join in the fight against something, let me suggest fighting the
terrible losses in Nepal. They could use
a hand.
You might
want to check out resources before you send a check to help in Nepal. Here is the
United Methodist website with information on what we’re doing, and what we’ve
already sent to help.
If you
already know that and are ready to donate, go here; join a
compassionate riot!
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