May 15, 2000

EDITORIAL:
Some blazes burn human souls
___The eyes of the nation, and perhaps the world, gazed in disbelief on Los Alamos, N.M., last week. How could a town of 11,000 people be wiped out? The thought remains almost incomprehensible, even after flames consumed the community.
___Fortunately, the residents of Los Alamos received plenty of warning, so loss of life was not an issue. But the wildfire that engulfed an entire town clearly illustrates that loss of life is not all of life. Like the flames, consuming questions sear the imagination: What will the Fire of '00 do to the soul of the city? How will it impact the life stories of thousands of families? If you had 30 minutes to pack, what would you take from your home? How do you rebuild a community infrastructure that has stretched back for generations? What do you say about the nature of divine providence and poor human decisions?
___We have heard with gratitude the kinds of stories that accompany catastrophe: Unflinching valor, kindness of strangers, sacrifice of friends. While these stories do not reverse the consequences of the flames, they inspire hope. We have viewed with appreciation the responses to this tragedy. And now that the smoke has begun to clear, literally and figuratively, strategies are emerging for putting Los Alamos and its people back together again.
___More than any recent cataclysm, Los Alamos represents a metaphor for the calamities that decimate lives, destroy families and uproot communities. It began with a stupid mistake, hidden in ill-founded logic. Once started, it burned out of control, whipped onward by external forces. Its foes felt almost helpless to defend against it. And when it burned itself out, the devastation was overwhelming.
___Sound familiar? The Los Alamos fire parallels a blaze of social problems. They, too, begin in ignorance, stupidity or illogic. Once set in motion, they take on lives of their own, flaming out of control across the landscape of lives, families, businesses, communities. As they rage, onlookers feel almost powerless to intervene. And when they have run their course, they leave a burned-out horizon of broken promises and tarnished dreams.
___You know personal and social "fires." You can make your own list. Here are examples:
___ Materialism. "Say you only need one thing; what you mean is you need just one thing more," the late Rich Mullins wrote. Desire for "things" consumes Americans. And the cost is more than money. It eats up relationships and skews perspective.
___ Careerism. This is a corollary to materialism. When career becomes an end in itself, it is an idol in which the "worshipper" places absolute trust or loyalty or both.
___ Addiction. Whether it's drugs, alcohol, tobacco or sex, addiction consumes like fire. And like the Los Alamos blaze, it never has to start but rapidly escalates exponentially.
___ Family dysfunction. Ask any pastor or school counselor, and you'll learn the devastation of problems in families out of control. Beyond the immediate turmoil, they reproduce themselves to subsequent generations, damaging young lives forever.
___ Fatherlessness, teen pregnancy and teen violence. While these elements are not mutually inclusive, they are inextricably linked across America. And they not only impact the child-parents, they infect their children and communities like a plague.
___ Anger. We see it in road rage, in random violence, even in fractured churches. Unalleviated anger burns the fabric of society, striking out irrationally, uncontrollably.
___ Grief. Just as the Los Alamos fire ignited suddenly and ferociously, grief often strikes instantaneously and grips people overwhelmingly. And just as the fire wiped out an entire town, grief is far-flung and no respecter of persons.
___These social blazes bear mentioning because of their parallel to the cataclysm in Los Alamos last week. They're unnecessary, difficult to handle and leave tragedy in their aftermath. But just as the Forest Service will install safeguards to ensure such a fire is not started again and the good people of Los Alamos and their helpers are trying to put the community back together, the Christian community must do more to prevent these social tragedies and to help their victims restore order and hope to their lives.
___This begins with prayer, but it must move forward. Our pulpits must resound with practical, down-to-earth sermons that address these issues and provide answers that are both biblical and practical. We must provide more support for programs that aim to intervene, such as Texas Baptist human welfare ministries and the work of churches that specifically target these problems. And we must get involved personally. Virtually every community in Texas is home to ministries for people with these kinds of needs, and the ministries always need volunteers. We can be fire-fighters, combatting blazes that may not burn bodies but definitely consume souls.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com


Send this story to a friend

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!