Dark Nights of the Soul - Job 19:1-7, 23-29

Dark Nights of the Soul

Job 19:1-7, 23-29

Lesson Setting

Not surprising, a scholarly debate endures about dating this most important book of the Bible.  Adherents to the school of higher biblical criticism posit the book was written years after the patriarchal period coinciding with the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  In contrast, scholars who favor an inerrant perspective on scripture argue internal evidence in the book suggests that Job lived one hundred and forty-two (142) years following his return to prosperity and restoration to health (Job 42:16).  Were his life to span hundreds of years, then he most appropriately lived during a historical period similar to the longevity of the patriarchs.

Lesson Outline

I.                 Job 19:1-4 – Shameless and Pious Attacks

II.            Job 19:5-7 – “God has wronged me”

III.        Job 19:23-24 – “Oh, that my words were recorded!”

IV.        Job 19-25-27 – A Grand Statement of Faith

Unifying Principle

Even when people admit their shortcomings, they are often ostracized by others and receive no justice.  Where can they get strength and reassurance?  Job and the Psalter proclaim – no matter what happens – God, the Redeemer, lives and constantly send forth steadfast love to all people.

Introduction

Who demonstrates greater faith, Abraham or Job?  Known as the “Father of faith” and the recipient of the covenant with Israel (Genesis 12), Abraham trusts Almighty God four hundred and fifty years before the Law is written down and obeys His will by relinquishing a pagan and polytheistic lifestyle.  As a result, God pledges forever faithfully to provide and protect Abraham and his descendants who will equate the number of stars in the night sky and grains of sand on the seashore.  Abraham’s simple yet significant act of faith resembles the dawn of the creation.  His trust and obedience yields the great religion of Judaism inclusive of monotheism, the Law, the Prophets and the blessings of the Covenant for anyone who believes and obeys.  In the “fullness of time,” Abraham’s obedience yields the “New Covenant” of God’s gift of salvation to humankind through the shed blood and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Within good and challenges times, Abraham maintains an unwavering faith in God.  Even as Abraham waits patiently for an heir, Isaac, he does not waver in faith but believes God is indeed able to fulfill the promise of a son.  Scripture and history greatly applauds Abraham for his faith.  We admire the blessings he receives as a consequence of his belief in the One, True God, Creator of the Universe.

In stark contrast, Job begins life as a very wealthy man until the Lord permits a major faith crisis in Job’s life.  With the colossal lost of his ten children and entire fortune inclusive of all financial acquisitions, material wealth and real estate.  The question arises as to whether Job will persevere in faith in God considering the depth of agony and lost.  Strikingly, Job articulates a genuine faith that seems to surpass his religiosity and ritualism prior to the devastation of his life.  Job personalizes the dark night of the soul.  What do we do in the midst of a faith crisis and it feels as if God abandons us to our dreadful circumstances?  Job’s example teaches us the necessity of steadfastness and meekness regardless of daily challenges. 

Recently, I read an amazingly quote.  “The young, new and innovative Christians of today will become the Pharisees of the next generation.”  As traditions solidify in thinking and practice, people rely more considerably upon their longstanding rituals, creeds, doctrines and customs than they do the Word of God and the vibrancy of the Holy Spirit.  Initially, the Pharisees prioritized the Law as a means of understanding God’s holiness and righteousness.  They taught Israel and Judah to obey the Law as the surest method of rightly relating themselves to God.  In time, their commentary on the Law, the Talmud, and their lengthier expository notes, the Midrash, superseded the actual Law itself not to mention God’s holy character and presence.  The Pharisees began to impose a yoke of slavery upon the people as they demanded greater allegiance to their interpretations and commentary than the Law itself.  When the Lord appears on the scene proclaiming the “New Law of Love” in a simplistic yet significant manner enabling the common person to grasp the message of the Father’s love, the Pharisees forcefully fight Him and seek His death and destruction.  Job’s friends resemble the Pharisees as they do not understand how a man can remain steadfastly righteous and experience the wholesale loss of wealth, health and good fortune that Job does.  Job demonstrates that righteousness does not exempt believing disciples from hardships and tribulations.

In this week’s lesson, we explore several key aspects of faith from Job’s perspective, a devout and God-fearing man who loses all of his children, his health and every material possession he owns in a very short period time.  Job aids us in developing compassion and sensitivity towards persons who feel “God has wronged me.”  How do we encourage fellow disciples who resolve “there is no justice” in faithfully serving Almighty God?  He permits tragedy and colossal loss to befall his righteous sons and daughters?  What difference does it make to devote your life to His service if He fails to protect and shield you from such danger?  Perhaps, God utilizes pain and misfortune to burn the dross of hidden sin, pride, arrogance and self-righteousness in the character of sons like Job.  His friends certainly offer this idea as a valid explanation for the sudden, unexpected albeit seemingly unfair turn of events in Job’s life.  Let’s explore in great detail Job’s reply to his friends who also are his main accusers. 

Still, Job exemplifies an unwavering belief in God’s redemption power specifically as it relates to his suffering.  How is it possible for Job to affirm boldly, defiantly and proactively, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last He will stand upon the earth?”  Job’s example proves God’s unfailing love for disciples who suffer much without yielding to the temptation of abandoning the faith.  Job’s life acknowledges the myriad and mysterious ways in which God demonstrates His patience and love and blesses His hurting children in times of trouble.  This most significant book of the Bible is a missionary text that informs readers that the Redeemer lives regardless of the circumstances of their lives.

Exposition

Point I – Job 19:1-4 – Shameless and Pious Attacks

With friends like Job’s, who needs enemies?  If your friends vociferously criticize you, do you need the scorn of adversaries?  Job’s friends who visit to comfort him actually spew forth incessant sanctimonious and pious accusations.  Convinced Job is hiding some deep unconfessed sin, they forthrightly recommend that he admit what he has been doing.  “He needs to come clean.”  Allowing Job repents and reveals his previously undisclosed sin, his dire circumstances will reverse.  As Job insists he has not done anything wrong and his previous blessings were divine rewards for his obedience and faithfulness, his friends contend he is being defiant.  They straightforwardly indict Job’s claims to righteousness.  Ironically, they hear of his misfortune and come to support him but in so doing they forcefully accuse him of hypocrisy and arrogance.  Imagine Job’s predicament as his friends “console” him with such character assassination.

Job’s friends raise a prevalent and troubling theological issue in many church circles.  What if any correlation exists between physical illness and disease and sin and rebellion?  Is sickness a matter of reaping what a person has shown?  A clergy colleague of mine shares a story of a startling hospital visit to a stalwart member of his church in which he finds another congregant severely castigating the patient.  As he enters the room, he overhears these words, “You’ve fooled all of us for a long time.  The devil has got you now as you deserve to be sick like you are.  You are finally getting what was coming to you.”  Regrettably, those frightening words of that parishioner are held sacrosanct by countless disciples.  Possibly, Job’s friends would agree readily with that idea.  Nevertheless, this prominent church teaching that God uses sickness, diseases and financial misfortune to punish sin rests upon a few very faulty premises which negate the biblically revealed character of Almighty God.  If human sin necessarily yields illness and disease, then human choices actually limit God’s abilities and redefine His sovereign prerogative.  Additionally, this idea concludes sadistic impulses lie in the character of God.  As the all-kind Heavenly Father, God does not visit pain, punishment and judgment upon humankind with any gleefulness.  His mercy actually withholds His justice and punishment.  Whereas He permits us to face the consequences of our choices, He still redeems our pain and leads us toward a greater purpose in living as a result of our mistakes.  He does not delight in destruction, depression and devastation amongst His people.

Oftentimes, during a difficult season of bereavement for congregants as we plan the “Service of Witness to the Resurrection,” I strongly suggest to hurting and grieving families that they wisely select those persons who will offer tributes and words of condolence at the service.  People, however well-intentioned, do not always say the most helpful things.  Some of them automatically and uncritically recite petrified church clichés which lack biblical foundation and reason.  Yet, they firmly and relentlessly recite these words believing their bereaved congregants will find comfort and consolation in them.  Remarkably, a sister will tell a widow that she knows how she feels as she leaves with her husband.  Persons who have never lost a child will tell heartbroken and bitterly weeping parents something similar.  In this passage, Job’s friends are just as dreadful in their actions and words although they are well intentioned.

Sadly, his friends barrage him with accusations to such an extent that Job pleads for mercy and relief.  He asks them how long they will continue to exacerbate his agony with their sanctimonious and pious attacks.  His equates their destructive sayings with the crushing of rocks.  It is as if Job feels he is being stoned to death.  Repeatedly, they reproach him definitely believing that they are helping him.  Misguidedly, these “smart bombs” usually result in more extensive damage than those persons launching them anticipate.  Job’s friends seek to destroy his spiritual pride thereby causing his repentance and thus yielding God’s mercy.  In their campaign to coerce Job’s confession, they inadvertently indict the character of Almighty God who appears to possess a sadistic streak in contrast to His previous revelations of Himself.

Vehemently chastising his friends for their shameless attacks, Job reminds them that any sin or errors he commits remain a private and personal matter between God and Job.  Job’s friends lapse into judging Job for his hidden and sin.  As a consequence, they imply their spiritual superiority to Job.  They may also cloak a measure of jealousy as they relish Job’s reversal of fortune and health considering is spiritual inferiority to them.  Possibly, they feel that they are more deserving of the bounty Job previously enjoyed.  A self-reliant piety grounded in external religious practice and mores usually results in the harmful and shameless attacks exhibited by Job’s friends.

Point II – Job 19:5-7 – “God has wronged me”

After castigating his friends for their lengthy humiliation of him and thus exalting themselves above him, Job offers a provocative statement of faith.  Job declares “God has wronged me.”  To his listeners and perhaps many contemporary disciples, Job’s bold statement sounds arrogant and sacrilegious.  However, were his friends able to listen with an open mind and willingly try to understand Job’s perspective, they may agree that his words albeit angry and volatile are appropriate for a man living in the dark nights of the soul.  As there is not external and reliable evidence to prove any wrongdoing on Job’s behalf, his righteous indignation is warranted.

In these few verses, Job delves deeply into the morass and treacherous emotions of someone who feels that God has betrayed him.  This emotional gall is very symptomatic of someone who spends sleepless nights during a bleak spiritual and personal period.  The parents of a fourteen year-old daughter who was killed in the crossfire of a gang initiation ritual as she sat on a New York City Transit bus can relate wholeheartedly to Job’s feelings.  A mother of four-month old baby who lost a most valiant fight for life after being born prematurely may offer a similar cry.  Any of the mothers of the first grade students who were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut could understandably make this claim.  The residents of Moore, Oklahoma who experienced two devastating tornadoes within fourteen years can additionally share these heartfelt and bitter sentiments.  Conceivably, any of these mothers may suspect that Almighty God actually sneered on the day their children were born.  In His infinite foreknowledge, He knew the pain and irreparable heartbreak that lay ahead of them.  Considering He is ever-present and all-powerful, what explains His failure to prevent their personal disasters?  Did He enjoy any sadistic pleasure and maniacal humor at their expense on the day when their worst nightmares began?  Job, many centuries prior to these twenty-first century tragedies, succinctly and sourly embeds these and similar questions in his ironic statement of faith, “God has wronged me.”

In fact, Job accuses God of drawing a net around him.  As a disciple experiences dark nights of the soul, it appears that his circumstances forcefully eclipse God.  Dread and depression are so overwhelming that they seemingly eliminate God’s presence.  When anger and angst combine, they produce feelings of abandonment.  Eventually, the mental hysteria leads a disciple to believe that God shockingly creates the conditions of his misery.  Job’s words depict a caged animal waiting for slaughter.  How could Almighty God betray me in such a fundamental and monumental way considering my faithful service to Him?

Reminiscent of his pious and sanctimonious friends, many contemporary disciples may characterize Job’s indictment of God as sacrilegious and inappropriate.  Equally justifiably, Job’s words are the desperate plea of a genuine disciple who refuses to accept simple answers to complex problems.  Job will not settle for clichés and simple-minded formulas.  He forcefully, angrily, bitterly yet sincerely asks His God to explain the onset and duration of Job’s current loss of health, wealth and good fortune.  Should the Lord’s grace, love and mercy fail to respond, the Job concludes his assumption that God has wronged him is correct.

Point III – Job 19:23-25 - “Oh, that my words were recorded!”

These verses hint to the thoroughness of the oral culture in which Job lives.  They also reflect his adamancy in his position.  Job believes so firmly in the correctness of his interpretation of God’s violation of His covenant with Job, personally, and anyone who believes in God, generally, that Job demands that someone record his petition for redress.  Fortunately, Job’s words were recorded eventually as a means of encouraging and empowering contemporary and all future generations of disciples as they experience dark nights of the soul.  The Book of Job teaches us how to persevere in genuine faith during difficult seasons.  Although Job issues several very harsh critiques of God, Job never considers his wife’s recommendation to curse God and die.  Moreover, Job does not abandon his faith and relationship with God solely because he loses his fortune health, children and material possessions.  Job’s example demonstrates faith’s essence is internal and spiritual not external and empirical.  Mostly, Job shows us that genuine faith centers upon a vibrant and developing relationship with God.

Point IV – Job 19:25-27 - A Grand Statement of Faith

Let’s join Job and sit with him.  Take a moment and survey the boils that afflict his entire body.  Can you smell the putrid fluids that emerge from His cells?  Look at Job’s unkempt face.  Can you imagine how awful Job’s hair smells?  Chances are you will not sit close to him as his clothes smell.  I imagine the furniture is most austere and the surroundings are very meager. Shockingly, in the midst of this bizarre, impoverished and dreadful setting, Job boldly declares a grand statement of faith.  “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.”

This great statement of faith is not recitation of a longstanding religious dogma or ecclesiastical creed.  Rather, it is a very personal appeal for vindication by the God whom Job knows and serves.  These words portray a deep intimacy between Job and God.  Earlier, Job called for a mediator between God and Job.  He seeks someone to advocate his cause as God appears to ignore Job’s pleas relating to rewards and righteousness and exemption from pain and punishment.  In possibly the best known and most cited verses in the Book of Job, he finally awakens to the reality Almighty God whom Job indicts actually is His Advocate and Redeemer.  Job affirms His faith in God and God’s unquestionable faithfulness thereby testifying to Job’s genuine reliance upon God and wholehearted certainty that God will transform Job’s adversity and tragedy whether Job lives or not.  Practically speaking, Job believes Almighty God will have the final word relating to Job’s predicament.  Job hopes fiercely and waits patiently for God’s redemption never wavering in his resolve that it will materialize.

Job’s grand declaration of faith serves two other purposes.  First, Job articulates his belief in life after death.  He believes he will see God on the other side of his pain and agony.  Although Job’s belief in the afterlife does not equate the formal system of thought that Paul details in 1 Corinthians 15, Job discovers hope in an eventual face-to-face conversation with Almighty God in order to understand completely God’s previously hidden mysteries and ironies as it pertains to redemptive suffering and other types of injustice.  Interestingly, the life’s furnace of affliction best burns away the dross of inadequate religious beliefs.  The pure gold of an intellectually respectable faith in God usually emerges in daily experiential learning rather than theoretical and formulaic knowledge.  A textbook faith hardly suffices during extended periods of trial and tribulations. 

Second, Job’s faith statement hints toward the coming of the Messiah.  As a messianic prophecy, Job alludes to the birth of Jesus Christ, who as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” and the atoning sacrifice and propitiation for humankind, is the Righteous Advocate for all disciples.  In the example of the crucifixion, Christ demonstrates the essence of redemptive suffering as His life, death and resurrection demonstrate this divine possibility for anyone who suffers.  A religious scholar and victim of domestic violence who cannot teach, lecture or write for a year finds new life in the example of the cross.  A mother who loses here one and only son to the dreadful disease of alcoholism and drunk driving finds resurrection in starting MADD, Mother Against Drunk Driving, and saves countless other lives.  An infertile couple finds resurrection in parenting through the process and gift of adoption.  It is impossible to exhaust the examples and enumerate instances of redemptive pain and subsequent triumph that innumerable disciples experience during dark nights of the soul.  As they read the Book of Job, they grasp a concrete, personal and perfect example of a man of genuine faith who unswervingly holds his belief in God’s righteousness, truth and justice.

The Lesson Applied

Let’s Talk About It

·        Who do you believe has greater faith Abraham or Job? 

·        Do you think anything that Job’s friend say has any merit?

·        Has God ever wronged you?  If yes, how did you respond to feeling betrayed by God?

·        Are you comfortable enough in your prayer life to be frank and straightforward with God?

·       Share an encouraging word from a time when you lived in the dark nights of the soul.

Dark Nights of the Soul - Habakkuk 2:1-5 & 3:17-19

Dark Nights of the Soul

Habakkuk 2:1-5 & 3:17-19

Lesson Setting

Named after its author, the book of Habakkuk in its purpose fulfills the prophet’s mission as a book recording the striking words of a poet who embraces his people with a message of God’s justice.  The prophet pronounces his sayings in the pre-exilic era.  References to the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians) and Nabopolassar, a Neo-Babylonian monarch who ruled from 627 to 605 BCE, offers an approximate date for the book.  However, biblical scholars agree that it is impossible to date this book with precision.  Moreover, Habakkuk’s oracles were God’s means of warning Israel and Judah many years in advance of the coming destruction resulting in captivity and exile if they continued digressing in wickedness and rebellion.  Habakkuk calls for justice, truth and righteousness in the midst of utter hopeless and darkness in Israelite and Judean society.

Lesson Outline

Point I – Habakkuk 2:1 – Waiting for an Answer from God

Point II – Habakkuk 2:2-3 – Write Down the Revelation

Point III – Habakkuk 2:4-5 – Faithfulness is the Key

Point IV – Habakkuk 3:17-19 – “I Will Trust in the Lord!”

Unifying Principle

Some people experience so many difficulties in life they lose all hope for the future.  Where can they turn for direction when things get really bad?  Job, the Psalter and Habakkuk all affirm that no matter what calamities might come their way, they will trust God; rejoice in God’s presence in their lives; and praise God for strength to carry on.

Introduction

Most regrettably, a very commercial, profitable and fashionable theology, “The Gospel of Wealth and Health,” receives widespread uncritical acceptance throughout Christendom.  Even in developing countries, pejoratively characterized as “Third World nations,” pastors, preachers and evangelists insist that following their facile formulas yields incontrovertibly limitless wealth and lifelong health and exemption from sickness and disease.  Actually, some of these “teachers of the Word of God” posit your righteousness equates with your financial gain and material acquisition.  The more you have in turn more greatly reveals God’s approval of you and your life.  Proof texting by finding a few verses in the Bible that lend themselves to these facile and one dimensional interpretations, these celebrity clergypersons exploit millions of disciples into supporting their lavish lifestyles.  However, the “Gospel of Wealth and Health” melts like wax when disciples periodically find themselves in the furnace of affliction.

In this second unit of lessons, we will explore biblical passages offering encouragement and empowerment to disciples as they live through the “Dark Nights of the Soul.”  From our Lord’s pitiable state in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal to Charles Spurgeon’s long-term depression to Harry Emerson Fosdick’s nervous breakdown to Martin Luther King’s questioning God in his kitchen one morning to Mother Teresa confiding her doubt to her private journal, all genuinely spiritual persons travel through this mystical valley of doubt, despair, depression and existential death.  This rite of passage is unavoidable for anyone seeking authentically to become a clear channel of God’s love, grace, mercy and peace.  As “pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress,” it stands to reason that hard times will emerge in the life of any committed disciple.  The history of the Church negates the prevalent, erroneous and wayward teaching that Almighty God exempts faithful disciples from hardships and adversities.  Actually, in the “Sermon on the Mount,” the Lord Jesus Christ declares “the rain falls on the just and unjust alike.”  For persons desiring to live justly, demonstrate mercy and walk humbly with God, trials and tribulations forge personal character and yield spiritual development.  Ironically, the darkness of daily living more greatly reveals God’s light.  As disciples embrace rather than shun “Dark Nights of the Soul, they attain more genuine spiritual progress.

This week’s lesson in Habakkuk, along with appropriate references in Psalms and Job, will enable us to discover practical and pragmatic ways of trusting unwaveringly in God’s faithfulness although bad things happen to us.  As we utilize the spiritual discipline of self-examination, we will define character traits that are resources as we face difficulties.  We will learn how to respond to obstacles by genuinely relying upon God’s presence and praising Him for strength to persevere and triumph.  Habakkuk’s story of maintaining hope and a faithful attitude despite his challenges serves as an ideal case study.  His example reflects the Lord’s empowerment of His people in the times of trouble.  Our analysis of his story will produce creative expressions and affirmation of hope in God notwithstanding bleak circumstances. 

Most specifically, God demands patience and trust that He will provide justice and victory. He does not want us to sulk as we await the fulfillment of His promises to intervene favorably in our affairs.  Thus, we need to rejoice in Him; practically speaking, to rejoice means to feel exuberance even when your circumstances would depress you.  We spin in ecstasy as we expect the manifestation of divine promises.  Praise and worship songs often equip us to remain joyous, happy and free during difficult times.  Essentially, Habakkuk teaches us how to develop the habit of handling hardships by trusting unwaveringly in the goodness and faithfulness of Almighty God.

Exposition

Point I – Habakkuk 2:1 – Waiting for an Answer from God

Many traffic accidents occur because people hate to wait.  It seems every driver believes his time is more important than the countless other motorists on the nation’s highways, parkways and streets.  Regrettably, driver’s hatred of waiting results in very serious collisions and sometimes fatalities.  In a milder way, being in the line in the post office or waiting for a doctor’s appointment are equally frustrating.  Inevitably, you conclude your time is being wasted as you could be doing some other more worthwhile task.  As we upon Almighty God, it is easy to suspect that He is delaying and thereby wasting our time.  Interestingly, waiting is one of the three replies He makes to our prayers.

In the first chapter, Habakkuk offers two stern complaints to the Lord.  In so doing, Habakkuk demonstrates the frankness and forthrightness that is often necessary in prayer.  A sanctimonious and pitifully piteous position is not a prerequisite for effective prayer.  In contrast, God appreciates and desires our honesty and openness.  As He knows the intents of hearts and thoughts of our minds, He knows exactly what we feel and think.  In an effort to cultivate a vibrant and maturing relationship with Him, frank communication is a non-negotiable aspect of relating rightly with Almighty God.  Accordingly, Habakkuk details the injustice, wickedness, oppression and rebellion he observes in Judean society amongst God’s chosen people.  Without mincing any words, the prophet inquires about the Lord’s patience and acquiescence of such social inequalities.  How can God tolerate wanton violence and cruelty, injustice and utter indifference toward the Law?  How long will God make Habakkuk cry aloud to Him for relief and intervention?

The Lord answers Habakkuk by foretelling the coming of the Babylonian captivity to commence in approximately twenty years of Judah refuses to repent from her wickedness and return to the Lord.  In His formal answer, Habakkuk 1:5-11, the Lord says that He will raise up the Babylonians for use as a rod of correction upon both Israel and Judah.  Since His people will not heed His Law, He will use their enemies against them.  The failure to cultivate and employ self-discipline means you will submit to some other authority. 

Interestingly, the Lord’s reply startles Habakkuk who offers a second and even more combative complaint.  The prophet indicts the Lord for looking disinterestedly upon the evil that permeates the nation.  The wicked no longer fear the Lord.  They snicker and laugh whenever anyone speaks of justice and righteousness.  Is not the God of Israel the everlasting Lord who has no beginning or end?  Does not He possess the power to eradicate this pervasive evil?  Perhaps, His character lacks the compassion for the poor and oppressed that Habakkuk previously believed it had?  Essentially, the prophet desires to understand how God can be so indifferent to treachery and iniquity?

As the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, God answers Habakkuk when He so chooses and on His terms.  However, Habakkuk experiences extreme difficulty waiting for God’s answer.  Similar to the examples above, he can create unimaginable trouble for himself and others if he allows his anger to control his attitude and approach as he waits for God’s answer to the two complaints.  Accordingly, Habakkuk errs on the side of precaution and vigilance.  He stations himself on the ramparts, a protective and defensive position where he can avoid surprise attack and injury.  Then, he steadfastly waits for God’s answer to ascertain whether His response will be declarative, interrogative and exhortative.  In fact, one biblical commentator suggests that Habakkuk prepares himself for an extended discussion with God about Habakkuk’s second complaint.

A practical and spiritual application of Habakkuk’s posture and approach to waiting for a revelation from the Lord is finding refuge in the Lord’s faithfulness and past kindnesses.  Deuteronomy posits memory as a form of prayer.  When we reflect upon the Lord’s enduring goodness and His countless past blessings, we obtain present reassurances of His continual goodwill toward us.  As we wait, we do the next right thing as the Lord leads.  The cumulative effect of our obedience will be a greater revelation of God’s will and purpose for us.  It is important to note that revelation emerges within relationship.  God does not squander His knowledge and divine purposes upon persons who do not establish and maintain a vibrant relationship with Him.  Habakkuk appeals to Almighty God on the basis of such a vibrant and perpetual rapport with God.  Nonetheless, in order to receive any divine knowledge, a disciple must be willing to wait.

Point II – Habakkuk 2:3-4 – Write Down the Revelation!

True to His faithful character, the Lord reveals His will to Habakkuk.  He does so after He orchestrates perfectly each detail of the vision.  Hence, He says the vision unfolds at its exact and perfect moment.  God does not leave any stones unturned nor does He neglect any aspects of revelation.  He intervenes into the minutia of our lives.  Thus, we take courage in realizing God’s favor relating to jobs, finances, relationships and other significant components of daily living because He mysteriously and majestically crafts each detail toward a positive outcome.

As the revelation materializes, the Lord instructs Habakkuk to write it down.  Life coaches contrasts dreams and goals by insisting that the latter be put in writing with a deadline.  A dream may remain as a good mental and heartfelt idea throughout a person’s life.  In comparison, a goal possesses a specific purpose and timeframe and means of attainment.  Applied spiritually, it is important to maintain a written prayer journal to record God’s faithfulness in your life.  Particularly, when the Lord reveals His will to you, you should put in writing including the date, time and place as soon as possible!  Otherwise, you will forget assuredly some aspect of His revealed will for you.  As a consequence, confusion, frustration and depression will fill the empty space in your mind and heart.  Originally, the Word of the Lord was transmitted orally as people in the Ancient Near East lived with a stalwart oral culture.  The printing press was not developed until the sixteenth century.  Though biblical peoples had papyri, dried and hardened animals skins used to make scrolls, they were very time consuming to complete and expensive to maintain.  Communities of people listened to wise teachers and memorized what they taught.  From the epics of Beowulf and The Odyssey to the Old and New Testaments, stories and truth were shared orally in successive generations.  In time, memories fade and people cannot resist the temptation to embellish stories with their won details.  Thereby, the original truth and meanings are lost and marred.  To prevent this erosion of main ideas, writing preserves the original words which offer the best opportunity to later generations to receive the primary lessons of the stories.  Summarily, the Lord answers Habakkuk’s complaint but directs the prophet to write it down to prevent any later confusion about the revelation.

Also, Habakkuk is told to make it plain so that a herald could run with it.  In addition to the use of simplicity in wording thus enabling anyone who reads the tablets to memorize the saying, Habakkuk is supposed to write the revelation in large letters.  In contemporary technological terms, he uses a font size that allows someone driving on the interstate and passing his billboard to read and retain this revelation with ease.  In Habakkuk’s historical setting, messages were often transmitted by runners who memorized the story and details and ran to its recipients.  These runners were known as heralds who shouted the message as they maintained the pace and distance of a marathon runner.  Various Old Testament passages record the transmission of battle reports through runners.  King David awaits the arrival of a runner to learn whether his beloved son, Absalom, has fallen in battle.  The runner arrives to reassure the king that his enemies are dead and have not triumphed in their attempt to dethrone him.  But, David has one primary question, “Is the young man, Absalom, still alive?”  The runner repeats his words thereby informing the king that his eldest son has fallen to the sword and been consumed by his own hubris.  Similarly, Habakkuk writes God’s revelation so that any runner at the time can pronounce it to the nation.

Oftentimes, God answers our prayers by saying, “Wait.”  Albeit an annoying reply especially when you are excited about pursuing an opportunity and you seek divine provision and protection to do so, waiting is necessary as the Lord rearranges aspects of your life to enable you to maximize this break.  We are also made to wait because we are not yet internally ready to receive the blessing.  Ninety-percent of people who win a lottery drawing are bankrupt within five years of their lucky day.  Millions and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollar flow through their hands and they do not know what to do with them.  They squander a blessing of a lifetime because they lack the knowledge, wisdom and character to utilize their overflow wisely.  Hence, God’s revelation unfolds when we are emotionally, physically, psychologically, mentally and spiritually prepared to receive it, obey His direction and follow His guidance. 

The appointed time equates with kairos time, the perfect present tense of divine action and intention, rather than chronos time, the progressive course of human history and current earthly events.  The Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, characterizes the Incarnation of Christ in human form and His Advent amongst humankind as an act of eternity uniquely intervening in human affairs.  Eternity stops chronology and redefines its meaning.  Hence, we date Church history from the birth of Christ which begins the chronology of God’s actions to save humankind through the gift of His “One and Only Begotten Son.”  As disciples individually, privately and rightly relate to Almighty God, He graciously reveals His “good, pleasing and perfect will” for their personal lives.  Such direct and private revelations redefine a disciple’s mission, purpose and service.  They equip him with clarity and comprehensive plans for achieving God’s will.  In order to preserve the revelation’s intent and lucidity, it is necessary to write it down.

When God tells us to wait, we often presume that He has forgotten us.  Impatience is a definite challenge for contemporary disciples as we live in a scientifically advancing and rapidly technologically oriented civilization inclusive seemingly of information traveling at the speed of light.  From microwaveable meals to same-day postal delivery to video phone calls traversing oceans and continents, we rarely have to wait for anyone or anything.  Misguidedly, we may demand the same instantaneous responses of God.  In stark contrast, God through Habakkuk says the revelation will unfold in accordance with His perfect timing.  Though it may seem that it lingers as we languish in agitation, irritation and possibly depression, divine revelation assuredly emerges in our lives.  Simply, we must wait as the revelation will come and not prove false.  As “it speaks of the end,” the revelation will yield total knowledge and practical direction to encourage and empower disciples to fulfill the will of God.

Point III – Habakkuk – 2:4-5 – Faithfulness is the Key

Soberly, Habakkuk warns Judah about the coming wrath of God as He will allow the Babylonians to punish His chosen people because of their longstanding disobedience and infidelity toward Him.  Referring to Babylonian in the third person singular, Habakkuk characterizes the nation as an arrogant, “puffed up,” man who trample upon anyone in his way.  At that time, an emerging superpower in the Ancient Near East, Babylon, the inheritors of the Chaldeans, extract seemingly limitless taxes and duties from weaker and vulnerable neighboring countries.  This was an occasion of a strong nation preying upon a weak one solely because economic, political and military might permitted them to do so.  Hence, the king of Babylon unjustly and insatiably demanded these monies from Israel and Judah.  No other country had the wherewithal to stop these incessant and unfair tactics.  Politically, there were no national or regional alliances in which countries collaborated to protect each other from a mutual adversary.  Each nation was responsible for its own defense.  Exacerbating Israel’s and Judah’s predicament was the divided kingdom among the Jews and their disdain for anything Gentile.  More frustratingly, they face the hard fact that their God who made a covenant with them now decides to leave them to these dire circumstances.  He threatens to withhold His protective hand as certain doom coalesces.

The fourth and fifth verses of this second chapter of Habakkuk depict a treacherous future enemy for Israel and Judah.  Babylon has an insatiable appetite for the wealth and resources of weaker nations.  Habakkuk describes the nation as “greedy as the grave” and “like death is never satisfied.”  What an eloquent yet frightening image of a future opponent!  Perhaps, Habakkuk’s literary and poetic flourish partially hides the utter devastation the nation will experience if they do not heed this divine warning.  When the prophecy is fulfilled in the next generation, Habakkuk’s words concretize in the colossal loss of the history, religion, literature and culture of Israel and Judah.  The Babylonians leave nothing in place.  They even subjugate the learned and most talented persons in the both the Northern and Southern kingdoms and transport them to Babylon to enrich their country and civilization.  Ultimately, Babylon determines she will rule the world and will take each nation captive until her total reign over the nations of the earth is complete.

Understandably, many persons in Israel and Judah received Habakkuk’s word with deep regret as they spiritually understood what lay ahead for their posterity and civilization.  His prophecy catapulted them into the dark night of the soul as they struggle to accept this divine sentence when they simultaneously recall the Lord’s faithfulness to His people.  They might ask, “How could God permit such a tragedy in the lives of His people?”  Also, they wonder about the indifference of their countrymen to God’s decrees and teachings.  If only they would follow the covenant, then Almighty God would avert the forthcoming destruction.  How did the excesses of society become the normal standard of behavior?  Why is the message of God powerless to transform the minds, hearts and behavior of their fellow citizens?  Is there still time to repent and avoid the coming divine wrath? 

Habakkuk actually considers and comforts his fellow Judeans who ask these penetrating and perplexing questions.  Yes, just and divine punishment will devastate the nation through the chosen instrument of Babylon but the “righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”  Practically speaking, the persons in Israel and Judah who persevere in their faith in God through a right relationship with Him need not fear any aspects of the forthcoming doom and gloom.  God shall remain their protector and provider though He justly judges the nation where they reside.  The authentically chosen people of God are the persons who have dedicated their hearts to Him.  Their stalwart faith in the Lord and His faithfulness assures His provision and safety regardless of society’s insanity.  God will preserve His remnant wherever they may be.  The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job and even Habakkuk reveals God’s faithfulness in shielding His remnant of genuine believers from the forces of nature, politics, economics, war and religion.  Righteous people, persons who genuinely rely upon God’s righteousness through their unwavering faith in His faithfulness, will live either on earth or in eternity.

Point IV – Habakkuk 3:17-19 – “I Will Trust in the Lord!”

Habakkuk ends his brief yet penetratingly powerful book of prophecy with a profound prayer.  Initially, he appeals to God’s “fame” as Habakkuk recounts the mighty deeds of Almighty God that he heard from his forbears.  He cites the Lord incredible and limitless power over natural forces.  As the author of the Universe, the Lord establishes natural law; thereby He can choose freely to suspend it to further His sovereign purposes.  The Lord reveals Himself as inherently kind and good to anyone who faithfully serves Him.  Thus, Habakkuk details the many ways in which God continually demonstrates His unfailing love and inexhaustible grace to His people.  Specifically, the prophet references God’s deliverance and salvation of His people in the midst of natural disasters and military and political calamity.  As a consequence, Habakkuk, although his heart pounds, lips quiver, legs tremble and bones decay, waits patiently for the deliverance and salvation of the Lord which certainly will materialize.

In the three final verses of the book, Habakkuk’s poetic flourish rises to a crescendo as he vividly depicts the necessity of rejoicing in God’s faithfulness regardless of the surrounding circumstances.  In the seventeenth verse, he paints potentially one of the harshest possibilities for an agricultural people who are very dependent upon the land for basic existence and livelihood.  The absence of figs and produce foreshadows a famine.  The lack of olives means the lack of oil for cooking, heat and light.  The loss of sheep and cattle results in a lack of meat, protein, clothing and other by-products.  He verbally draws a canvass depicting the aftermath of utter destitution.  This very staunch and bleak mosaic prefigures the actual Babylonian captivity.  Nevertheless, Habakkuk boldly affirms in the next verse that he will “rejoice in the Lord” and be “joyful in God my Savior.”  What an incredulous and radical statement of faith!  Though wickedness within the nation permeates every corner of the land and attack from a foreign enemy nears the city gate without, Habakkuk affirms unwaveringly his trust in the Lord.

Habakkuk finishes his recorded prophecy with lyrics for a song of faith to encourage and empower the remnant when trials and tribulations emerge.  The nineteenth verse is the final stanza of this praise and worship song reminiscent of the Psalms.  Habakkuk declares the Sovereign Lord is his strength.  His prophecy reveals the fallacy in trusting in military might and natural resources.  God will be as kind to the prophet and other faithful believers as He is to deer in the wild that imminently face the loss of their lives at the craftiness of a predator.  God will grant them His favor equating to the feet of a deer thereby lifting them above the dire circumstances and bountifully blessing them in the midst of tragedy.

The Lesson Applied

Let’s Talk About It

·        If you were counseling the victims of the most tragic tornado in Moore, Oklahoma in May of last year, what would you suggest to them if they were having a crisis of faith in God?

·        Do you have a favorite hymn or praise song that you sing in difficult times?

·        Have you had a recent experience of a dark night for your soul?  Would you share your experience with the class?

·        What are some practical and pragmatic ways to respond to tragedies such a death, termination, divorce, loss of health, etc?

Describe what life was like for Habakkuk and his family as he proclaims this message of God’s forthcoming wrath so many years before it occurs?

Lessons in the Gas Lines following Super Storm Sandy

Lessons in the Gas Lines 

following Super Storm Sandy

On 29 October 2012 with hurricane force winds and rain, Super Storm Sandy pelted the coastal regions of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  Resulting in several human casualties, billions of dollars in property and material losses and substantial damages to roads, bridges, public transportation systems and other types of infrastructure, Super Storm Sandy comparatively remains the worst natural disaster in United States history.  The longstanding ravages of Hurricane Katrina which pounded the greater New Orleans region on 29 August 2005 seemed insurmountable.  Nine years later as residents of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi rebuild their lives, they offer hope to their fellow citizens in the Northeast region.  In the Breezy Point neighborhood in the borough of Staten Island in New York City, one hundred houses burned in one swoop as an uncontrollable fire ignited inexplicably and raged ferociously.  Firefighters had to withdraw given the magnitude of the blaze.  Interestingly, a wall of water created by the storm encircled the burning houses simultaneously containing the fire and preventing first responders from saving any property.  News footage captured the helplessness of emergency personnel and Breezy Point residents as Mother Nature forced everyone to stand in amazement and watch her lethal and merciless handiwork.  A year and a half following Super Storm Sandy, countless residents in the Northeast strive to rebuild their lives and property as they grapple with local, state and federal governmental officials to obtain financial and other resources. 

A resident of Cambria Heights, New York in the borough of Queens, I received divine and circumstantial favor as my family and neighbors did not experience the tremendous and incalculable losses of our fellow citizens.  Fallen trees littered our lawns, driveways and side streets.   Collapsed power lines conjured fear of shock and electrocution as pools of water lay adjacent.  After remaining patiently indoors and listening to howling winds and observing its fierce destructive abilities, we emerged in the storm’s aftermath with our lives and property relatively intact.  Actually, a huge tree fortunately fell onto a neighbor’s front yard rather than onto both of my cars which I left on the street.  I should have parked them in the driveway between my house and my neighbor’s residence.  Still, my problems in the aftermath of the storm were miniscule compared to thousands of other families who continue to find “a new normal.”

Whether a person sustained substantial or minimal material and property damage in the aftermath of the storm, all citizens in this region faced a circumstantial “gas shortage.”  Unlike the long lines in the late 1970s in which OPEC turned off the valve and deliberately limited the supply of oil to the United States and other Western nations to inflate artificially gasoline prices, I stood in line for hours seeking to purchase gas.  Many stations had gas but were unable to pump and sale it because of power shortages.  Generators were in high demand.  The combination of power outages, inability to pump fuel, need for generators and challenges in transporting gasoline produced a shortage.  For nearly a month following the storm, I had to incorporate purchasing fuel into my daily and weekly routines.  Will I stand in line today?  If not, how many days can I still travel before I absolutely must buy gas?  I had to consider the essential trips to and from school and dropping off and picking up my wife at the commuter train station.  I maximized each trip in the car.  I only used the car when very necessary.  As it related to balancing competing priorities of time and resources, my experience was not unique.  Average residents of the tri-state region faced the same reality. 

I did not appreciate fully that a “gas shortage” threatened daily routines and conveniences.  Cambria Heights borders Long Island; within five minutes of leaving my front door, I reach the Nassau County line.  Though I saw lines forming at neighborhood gas stations, I ignored them as overzealous and reactionary people whose anxiety overwhelmed them.  The residents of Long Island sensed the looming threat of a gasoline shortage before New York City dwellers fully absorbed the magnitude of the burgeoning crisis.  People from Nassau County came into Queens to fill-up their gas tanks.  Despite listening to public service announcements on the radio and television, many New York City residents like me casually and cavalierly disregarded the wise advice to get fuel.

Within days, the magnitude of the gas shortage became evident as everyone had to consider whether he or she had sufficient gas to get to and from work, handle normal familial obligations such as grocery shopping and school transport and respond to medical emergencies if necessary.  Only one quarter of gas stations in the greater New York area were operating.  Power shortages in the Northeast region resulted in delivery challenges.  Some stations waited for greatly anticipated deliveries.  As gas became an invaluable commodity, long lines formed at gas stations with fuel and the capacity to pump it.  By the Thursday following the storm, the gas shortage was most evident to citizens of the City and tri-state region.  Stations created two different lines.  You could stand in line with approved gas containers.  First, you could fill as many gas cans as you could carry.  Within a week, station managers had to enforce strict limits of three containers per purchase. 

On Friday, November 2^nd, I stood in line for the first time.  I immediately recall just how cold it was.  Within the three and a half hours that I kept moving my two containers inch by inch until  I finally made it to a pump, I became colder and colder as a progressive wind chill coupled with cloudiness of a fall day tempted me to abandon a necessary task for my family.  Second, there were car lines, which stretched blocks in length.  Ironically, many people burned a lot of gas as they waited in their vehicles to fill-up their tanks.  Erroneously, some people thought they were saving fuel by turning the ignition on and off as they crawled in the car lines.  Actually, that method consumes more gas than it saves.  Desperation often overpowers reason.  Interestingly, both types of lines demonstrated the best and worst of human nature.  Limited resources usually result in scarcity of human consideration, graciousness and goodwill.

I waited in line with personified frustrations of persons who simply sought to purchase gasoline and return to their daily existence.  I observed many people attempting to buy gas with wrong containers.  The station manager told several people to leave the line; he would not risk a citation and fine for dispensing fuel in milk jugs, glossy party mix jugs, cartons, glass cider and vinegar jugs and other flimsy and insufficient containers.  Despite his concern for his license to operate and consideration of their safety, many of these people persisted in their demands to buy gas; after all, they had waited for an hour or more.  Incredulously, the possibility of transforming their cars into potential bombs, as the gas would have burned through those inadequate containers and probably ignite in reaction to any spontaneous spark, did not alarm any of these frustrated people.  

Lessons in the Gas Lines following Super Storm Sandy Part II

Lessons in the Gas Lines 

following Super Storm Sandy

Part II

Also, I listened to the lengthy lament of a wife whose husband called as she waited to scold her for failing to be in line sooner.  Understandably, as the primary provider for their family, the husband’s work schedule prevented him from attending to this critical need for his wife and children.  His impatience and compassionless criticism seemed harsh and inconsiderate as we waited in falling temperatures and rising wind chills. 

Rather surprisingly, I along with countless other parents stood in these long lines; our children were invisible.  On one day, I overheard the phone conversation of a young lady who profanely and profusely complained to a friend.  “My Mom has me standing in this damn gas line when she knows I am allergic to the smell of gasoline.  Besides, I don’t want to do this [expletive!]”  The young lady proceeded for an additional half hour to inundate her friend with every conceivable profane word and thought.  It did not appear she considered how arduous waiting in frigid temperatures amongst feverishly irritated human beings whose latent fears about potentially scarce fuel resources ignited the passions and choices of their lower beings.  Continually I relegate that young lady’s selfishness, insensitivity and indifference to her mother’s needs as regrettably indicative of a generation that lacks capacity to allow the needs of other people to penetrate their consciousness and influence their choices.  Were you to multiply that young lady’s apathy, you begin to appreciate the collective incivility of many people in the gas lines. 

Another gentleman exhorted anyone within ear shot about the failure of the New York City government to establish a pecking order for the gas lines.  Because he lacked fuel to operate his personal generator, he was unable to heat his home.  He did not disclose whether there were any infants, senior citizens or seriously ill members of his household.  Quite possibly, the composition of his family would not have had any bearing upon the situation.  Each person in line could argue an equally logical and personally significant reason for a privileged spot in line.  Nonetheless, several listeners who shared his predicament of living through the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy without electricity agreed with his primary premise; citizens without power deserved some type of preferential consideration. 

Yet another woman in line began to insist that she deserved advancement to the front of the line because of her job.  The verbal barrage of condemnation and criticism she received for stating aloud that her job exceeded the priority and worth of everyone else’s soon quieted her self-importance and grandiosity.   Many other people in line shared her self-centeredness expressions.  I heard recitations about how arduous the gas shortage was on family and especially children.  People articulated anxieties about having enough gas to attend to school drop-off and pick-up in addition to extracurricular activities, routine family chores and personal errands.  Somehow, the emergence of a shortage multiplied the worth of these daily and mundane tasks; fearing their inability to function normally, most people convinced themselves that their “To Do List” greatly exceeded the importance of other people’s usual activities.  Ordinarily, people complain incessantly about marital requests (items on the proverbial “Honey Do List”), parental obligations and familial commitments; they relegate these administrative tasks which are essential to a healthy and functional family as impositions upon private time and finances.

Did any of us standing in line look beyond our niche in the forest and take a panoramic view of the substantial pain and devastating loss many of our fellow citizens suffered because of Super Storm Sandy?  Were we so self-obsessed that we refuse to view the storm and its incalculable damages in a larger societal context?  As we waited for gasoline and periodically asked people to save our places in line so that we could walk into an adjacent convenience store to purchase snacks and beverages, there were families that did not have any food.  The lack of refrigeration and electrical power completely ruined whatever they had.  Trees fell on cars, into houses and other buildings and onto roadways and driveways.  Actually, downed trees littered many neighborhoods requiring many motorists to swerve and avoid potentially live power lines and possible car accidents.  Water damage closed several schools for weeks.  Flood insurance became a non-negotiable component of many homeowners’ policies.  Did anyone in the gas lines pause to consider the destitution and dispossession of their fellow Americans? 

Feelings of frustration rarely yield gratitude.  All of the persons in line, were they to consider the deaths in addition to the wholesale loss of every material possession, would transform complaints into thanksgiving.  Inconvenience for twenty-first Americans, which indefinitely suspend our use of creature comforts and impede our satisfaction of hedonistic impulses, composes a repertoire of self-centered complaints.  The aftermath of Super Storm Sandy and limited ability to pump and sell gas revealed the very best and the absolute worst in people.  An unbridled demand to oblige personal preferences underlay lengthy pontificating about fundamental fairness and equity in distribution of fuel resources.  Attempts to fill illegal gas containers reflected an indifference to the law and any possibility of governmental violations levied against owners of gas stations.  People were insensitive to the definite probability that inspectors and enforcement officers would immediately close any station that created unknowable dangers in cars, on the roads, bridges, and tunnels; and within homes as people reportedly began to stockpile gasoline in their basements.  Closing any station would have compounded everyone’s worsening situation. 

Escalating tensions regarding a person’s place in line resulted in the need for police patrol at myriad gas stations.  In Brooklyn, shootings, stabbings and hospitalization occurred.  There were a few arrests because of serious threats.  Imagine gun violence and shootings adjacent to gas tanks; one misfire and countless persons may have lost their lives!  Devious schemes to purchase a person’s place in line developed as some people were determined to profit personally from the fuel shortage.  I witnessed several men waiting in line to fill large containers.  They then stopped passing cars to sell the gas at rates as high as ten dollars per gallon.  Parenthetically, the Attorney General of New York State deserves acclamation for ensuring that gas stations and other businesses did not engage in price gouging which usually happens after natural disasters.  Gas prices remained at the same pre-Sandy levels.  Nonetheless, the aftermath of that historically unparalleled and monumental storm revealed people’s charitable, compassionate and merciful disposition as well as their vulgar, sadistic and narcissistic dimension.

Incredibly, a certain strand of American jingoism lays latent within the minds and hearts of average citizens regardless of race, creed, color, ethnicity and culture.  Innumerable times, I heard the arrogant and reprehensible statement.  “This is not a Third World country!”  Beyond the blatant economic, geographical and political chauvinism, the comment reflects increasing moral, ethical and humanitarian decline in the American mindset.  Interestingly, some of the persons pronouncing this vitriol did so with the accents and flourish of the countries and cultures that they condemned.  Have Americans become so comfortable and complacent with daily creature comforts that our lack of them for a brief period of time leads us to esteem their worth over the significance of entire nations of people whose hard labor produces the technology, power and electronics we utilize? 

Lessons in the Gas Lines following Super Storm Sandy Part III

Lessons in the Gas Lines 

following Super Storm Sandy

Part III

Citizens in the United States could learn a lot from Third World neighbors in the global village.  Though these nations are developing in terms of manufacturing, gross national product and other economic indicators, they appear rich in familial, relational and other human resources.  During the last decade of the twentieth century coinciding with the years of the Clinton Administration, Americans experienced unequaled economic prosperity.  The New York Stock Exchange broke ten thousand and sustained that considerable growth for months; the rate of return on investments approximated an average of fifteen percent.  Average Americans per capita individually owned more materially than at any other point in human history.  By the end of the twentieth century, the United States had become home to more than forty thousand (40,000) stand alone storage units.  That mind boggling figure excludes the possessions that Americans have in closets, attics, basements, garages and car trunks.  Quite possibly, Americans store more items than people in Third World countries actually own.  This propensity to acquire more items for its sake and store them created a competitive market of garage and yard sales and auctioning of storage lockers throughout the country.  Perhaps, global neighbors in developing countries could help Americans curb their ferocious and insatiable economic appetites and reorder their priorities. 

One Saturday morning during the weeks of gas shortage, I walked two blocks from my house to a station where people had stood in line over night anticipating a delivery.  An adjacent McDonald’s franchise undoubtedly exceeded its sales goals as the street garbage cans overflowed with their coffee cups, food containers and bags.  Each day possibly earned a week’s worth of normal sales projections as Super Storm Sandy imported an impromptu captive, large and lingering market.  As people waited endlessly in the long gas lines, hunger and the cold forced them into McDonald’s.  Beyond marveling over the incredible amount of fast food that people in line consumed, I was delighted to stumble serendipitously upon an overnight conversation and debate on religion.  A clergy colleague and contemporary in seminary had spent the night in line and participated thoroughly in the discussion.  He holds a doctorate in Modern and American Religious History; yet he possesses the uncanny ability to resist pedantic airs and fully respect laypersons in heated debates about politics and religion.  Beginning with ancient Egyptian civilization and indigenous African religions, the conversation participants traversed the complex, intriguing and provocative terrain of the development of formal belief systems and religious institutions. 

They traveled from East to West surveying origins of Buddhism, Hinduism and the History, Religion and Literature of Israel.  At my arrival with a couple of gas cans circa 8:00am, they had sped through centuries; chronologically, they began in 10,000 BCE.  As I assumed my place in line, they had arrived in Rome following the Protestant Reformation of the early 1500s CE.  One gentleman whose physical strength, mental acumen and ideological resolve did not waver despite hours of exposure to natural winter elements took the crowd to task about the rogue and reprehensible actions of Protestant Christendom.  He demanded all Protestants, clergy and laity, immediately and irreversibly repent of their wickedness and the error of their ways by rejoining the “one true Church,” the Holy Roman Catholic Church.  This gentleman’s words reverberated forcefully in the conversation because his remarks reiterated Pope Benedict XVI’s similar position articulated in the first year of his papacy.  Eventually, everyone recovered from the shock of such a wholesale indictment of four hundred and fifty divergent strands of Protestant Christianity,

The conversation turned toward recent financial, sexual, political and moral scandals of Protestant clergy.  As an African American clergyperson with twenty-six years of professional experience, I felt compelled to ask the crowd to resist the easy temptation of depicting my colleagues with broad brushstrokes which result quickly from incendiary and inflammatory news accounts pertaining to atypical pastors at mega churches who lust for celebrity and fortune.  My valiant efforts proved futile in response to the understandable and entrenched cynicism relating to clergy within any of the five major faiths.  That iceberg floating in the ocean of public discourse is much wider and deeper than I suspect.  Nonetheless, I then recalled the event that was to begin at the church within in the next hour.  Regrettably, I had to leave.  Still, I marveled about the depth and breadth of that theological and historical seminar in a gas line.  Genuinely, the qualitative exchange of ideas and penetrating questions paralleled graduate school courses.  The aftermath of Super Storm Sandy yielded joys, mysteries and experiences that many of us would not have had otherwise.  Again, that natural disaster unearthed the best and worst of human character.

In the first gas line in which I stood, I learned that an owner of a home improvement company brokered a deal with the station owner.  The home improvement business owned two huge generators that had the capacity to operate two gas tanks and the station’s store.  Whereas the station owner had generators, they were not powerful enough to enable him to sell gas.  With the contingency that he be allowed to commandeer one side of one tank for his business vans and the private vehicles of his employees, the home improvement owner loaned the gas station owner the two generators.  This deal positioned both men and their businesses to maintain operations during the month immediately following the storm when many other enterprises suffered tremendous losses because of the fuel shortage.  As versions of this story seeped through the crowd, many of us became grateful to these anonymous men whose mutually beneficial business deal afforded us an opportunity to care for our families and attend to daily professional and personal demands. 

However, one woman complained incessantly through the hours she stood in line about how unfair it was that the home improvement personnel received special treatment.  Along with other persons in line, I appealed to her to be pragmatic and consider that their boss’s generosity however personally and economically motivated still resulted in favorable actions for us.  Had not the deal been brokered, then there would have been one less gas station open.  The potential loss of that one station would have significantly exacerbated the gas shortage.  All of us would have experienced even greater hardships as would the people we love at home and serve at work.  Incredulously, our appeals to this woman fell on infertile mental and emotional ground.  Within interims of ten to fifteen minutes coinciding with the arrival and departure of the home improvement vans, she restated her objections about the lack of fairness.  The self-centered nature of her shameless grumbling became most evident for anyone continuing to listen.  Many of us simply began to ignore her as she lacked the capacity to look beyond her personal needs and appreciate the good deed that the business produced even if it were not fair fundamentally.  What is?  Her recalcitrance and unwillingness to consider the collective needs of everyone in line and the fact that this deal presented a perfect but albeit human opportunity to meet those needs exposed the pungent and repulsive stench of indifference with which many people respond to this historic natural disaster that adversely affected and effected countless millions of American citizens. 

Lessons in the Gas Lines following Super Storm Sandy Part IV

Lessons in the Gas Lines 

following Super Storm Sandy

Part IV

One day, I shared a space in line with a young man who was experiencing overwhelming anxiety about his athletic ambitions.  Possessed with an athletic intelligence and a commanding knowledge of football, he aspires to play in the National Football League.  But, his physique is rather small; most scouts immediately dismiss him and negate his dreams and goals as they do not posit he could survive and thrive in professional football.  Beyond finances and fame, he greatly desired success as it would enable him to marry his long-term girl friend and future fiancé.  I reasoned he really loves her and earnestly desires to build a life with her.  Their untainted and early love impressed me.  Silently, I prayed for their success and maturity in love and as individuals.  Still, his anxiety plagued him as we talked.  In response to constructive and caring criticism he received from a couple of coaches and scouts, he sought positions on Arena Football teams hoping to parlay any successes into openings on a NFL team roster. 

Recounting the stories of Doug Flutie and Warren Moon, I suggested that this young man consider playing in the Canadian Football League.  Flutie and Moon utilized that route to their NFL dreams and goals; eventually, Flutie achieved the starting quarterback position with the Buffalo Bills and Moon acquired the same position with the Houston Oilers, present day Tennessee Titans.  The young gentleman acknowledged his unawareness about this possibility with a glimmer of hope in his eyes and a broadening smile on his face.  Again, I silently prayed that he would explore this option by researching Canadian Football League teams.  I suggested he produced a DVD profile of his playing skills.  Quite possibly, a scout or coach would call him.  Nevertheless, as we progressed in the line and neared the gas tanks, he reiterated his heart’s desire to arrange his vocational and financial affairs to enable the fulfillment of his heart’s deepest desire at that time; he wanted to marry his girlfriend as soon as he demonstrated his ability to provide for her as he deemed a husband should care for his wife.  With nearly eighteen years of marriage when this conversation occurred, I instantly remembered those feelings of having found the woman you want to marry and doggedly arranging your lifestyle to enable your wish.  As I wished him the very best and prayed genuinely for his personal and professional success, I gave thanks that the gas shortage afforded me the blessing of that encounter.  I humbly hope I imparted hopefulness to him.  His rightly enumerated priorities of love and relationship preceding work and professional ambition reminded me of the importance of valuing marriage and family above personal achievement. 

Carl Jung posits, “Man is an animal with a fatally overgrown brain.”  Natural disaster and human tragedy often expose humankind’s base animal instincts and predatory tendencies.  The emergence of an entrenched and expanding “Black Market” incontrovertibly proved Jung’s bleak assertion regarding human nature.  Senior citizens and persons with disabilities paid ten to fifteen dollars per gallon for gasoline; their critical need for fuel to travel to medical appointments coupled with their inability to wait in the long lines made them fresh prey for unscrupulous persons who waiting only to extort very vulnerable citizens.  I witnessed many transactions as shady individuals hailed cars and sold gasoline at highly inflated prices.  Within a week of the storm, the NYPD began to stop these “Black Market” deals.  People were no longer allowed to fill unlimited containers using grocery carts and red wagons.  To facilitate their schemes, these predators offered to buy other people’s places in line.  Once, one of them offered twenty dollars for my spot.  Beyond the fact that his offer fell way below my hourly billable rate, it offended me because it disrespected the time of everyone else in line.  Imagine the amount of loss wages that accumulated as people from all professions and types of employment forcibly stood in line as they had to have gasoline to travel to and from work.  In addition, some retailers began to inflate the price of gas containers; prices tripled and quadrupled overnight.  Once the gas shortage abated prices for gas containers fell but did not return to their normal rates; mostly, they settled approximately twenty-five percent above pre- Sandy levels.  Commendably, the New York State Attorney General’s Office fiercely and forcefully regulated gas prices to prevent gouging.  Had not he done so, desperate citizens would have paid twenty dollars or more a gallon! 

One of the worst instances of predatory profiteering in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy centered upon free gasoline that President Obama made available to citizens in the most severe areas.  The federal government using armories as distribution centers initially gave ten gallons of gas to citizens who had the means of acquiring it with proper gas containers.  Within hours of this benefit, there were news reports of verbal threats, vulgarity and possible violence.  The common bond of severe need in dire circumstances proved ineffectual in creating unity, respect, and graciousness toward fellow citizens.  Moreover, people retrieved the free gas only to sell it to senior citizens, neighbors and other desperate persons.  Within days, federal authorities cancelled the distribution as it became a means for a thriving “Black Market” which would produce residual crime and hardships upon storm victims.

Whereas natural disasters such as Sandy quickly reveal the worst in human nature, they equally expose the better characteristics of countless, nameless people.  The neighboring state of Connecticut did not experience the gas shortages that the greater New York City and Long Island area did.  Utility companies and state government officials quickly restored power to Connecticut residents.  Gas stations did not need generators and fuel deliveries occurred without interruption.  Not surprisingly, this favorable news trickled down to the five boroughs of New York City; specifically, residents of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx began travelling to the gas stations adorning Interstates 95 and 91 in Connecticut.  Their wait time never neared the long lines in which I stood for hours.  Personally, I observed and benefited from the magnanimity of generosity as a member of our church traveled to Connecticut for gas and spontaneously asked if I wished to purchase any.  His willingness to assume considerable risk to enrich my family’s life and the lives of a few other people continually challenges me to serve faithfully, immediately and willingly when opportunities arise.  Eventually, he filled his trunk with several full containers of gasoline.  An accident with a minimal collision would have transformed his car into a liquid bomb.  Nonetheless, he withstood that formidable risk because embedded within his character is the genuine and humble will to share.  That attribute became more apparent when he discovered subsequent to his return from Connecticut that another member of our church, a single middle-aged woman, needed gas.  Without hesitation, he divided the gas to accommodate her need.  When he arrived at my house, he shared his decision which I understood and agreed.  I refused his offer of reimbursement for the portion of the gas that went to our Christian sister.  His graciousness sufficed as payment. 

Lessons in the Gas Lines following Super Storm Sandy Part V

Lessons in the Gas Lines 

following Super Storm Sandy

Part V

Interestingly, I had the occasion to return this good deed while waiting in a gas line on another day.  An anxious mother seeking to reduce her wait time and expedite her errands actually left the line in which we waited initially.  She walked across the street to grab a place in line as an adjacent gas station.  That line appeared to move faster.  However, unbeknownst to her, each person ahead of her was purchasing larger quantities of gas than in the line she left.  Before she reached the tanks, the station had run out of gas.  Crestfallen, she had to return to the end of the line where she began the day.  Unfortunately, her time was running out as she was due to pick up her daughter from daycare.  Fortuitously, she was returning to the first line as I was leaving with two full gas containers and heading to my car.  After hearing her dilemma, I refused her offer of payment for one of the containers.  I gave the gas to her and a ride to her car which was parked a good walking distance away from both gas stations.  As I put the funnel in the opening to her gas tank and poured the gas, I for the first time understood just how precious of a commodity that gasoline is in Western economies and nations.  Her car was parked yards away from two fell trees; an oak tree essentially blocked off this road as it was impossible for any vehicle to pass around and the other tree fortunately fell in the right direction and landed on the neighbor’s front lawn.  Mother Nature favorably spared this woman’s neighbors a few totaled cars and months of agony of haggling with insurance companies while simultaneously acquiring temporary transportation.  She spared one neighbor the extreme difficulty of substantial home repairs had the tree fallen in the opposite direction.  Observing these details in those few moments made me grateful.

On a few occasions as I waited in line, I observed the best of human nature in difficult times.  A woman upon entering her cards into the tank to purchase gasoline discovers that it does not work.  Multiple attempts yield the same result.  The next person in line bought her gas and suggested she pay it forward.  Hopefully, she did not use purposefully an expired card.  Still, any ulterior motives on her behalf did not cancel that man’s willingness and generosity to assist a woman in need.  Beyond his desire to buy gas as quickly as possible, he conceivably thought of her children whose lives would be adversely affected were their mother unable to buy gas.  Additionally, I recall people sharing food and drinks with each other.  Hardly anyone went inside to purchase snacks without offering to buy items for others in line.  Just as I hope I imparted encouragement and hope to that aspiring football player, I gleaned wide-ranging practical advice and spiritual wisdom as I listened to the myriad conversations of other people. Hearing their collective desire to endure the gas shortage and meet their personal and professional obligations in addition to helping someone else as occasion warrants renewed my hope. 

In the gas lines following Super Storm Sandy, I relived a valuable childhood lesson.  Hard times divulge the absolute worst in people.  Anyone with entrepreneurial and capitalist impulses immediately starts profiting from tragedy.  Who is weakest?  What is the maximum price of their desperation?  They would do it to me were the situation reverse.  These types of people will utilize any opportunity to profit and prey upon the most vulnerable citizens such as seniors and persons with disabilities.  However, the converse remains true.  Natural disasters also motivate the best tendencies within people.  Communities spontaneously form during times of crisis.  Enduring solutions to lingering problems ironically emerge as hardships greatly disrupt people’s daily routines.  Severe discomfort, agony, adversity and personal pain combine to create pathways to a better quality of life.  An analysis of the causes of the Breezy Point fire will result inevitably in innovative residential planning and zoning for twenty-first century living.  In addition to the physical destruction of property and scenery, Super Storm Sandy demolished outmoded paradigms of urban residential and commercial planning.  Federal government agencies and authorities will examine their disastrous results of their attempt to distribute free gasoline to the neediest citizens.  Next time, they will be able to avoid the dastardly schemes and ill-gotten propensities of citizens with entrenched character defects who only seek to profit from other people’s defenselessness.  More personally, natural devastation affords individuals small yet significant opportunities to rebuild by touching the lives of people whom they encounter.  A kind deed that seeks nothing in return and done anonymously potentially renews each recipient’s faith in God and humankind.