Response to Natural Disasters

Ramon Arias | September 4, 2017

Any devastation of massive proportions brings out the best and worst in human nature. Upon seeing the destruction and human suffering, many people’s hearts are moved, and the desire to help the unfortunate takes over. Loving your neighbors is manifested in displays of compassion and heroism even to the point of putting your life on the line and in the process lending a helping hand. On the other hand, there are a few that let their evil tendencies take over to exploit the crises for personal gain; these people are devoid of compassion. The good hearts always surpass those of evil, and that is always the good news.

Regions that are devastated require months and years of recovery and all that it entails.  People need to get their material lives back in place, and no amount of money can quantify the loss of human lives nor replace them. Only God by his Holy Spirit can truly comfort grieving hearts.  It is the long haul that requires calm minds to sort things out. History teaches us that people can bounce back as long as it is not the result of a collapse of their civilization, which never rebounds to its former glory. In any case, there are lessons to be learned.

Every one of us that have gone through the wrath of nature in any of its manifestations knows what others are experiencing. Those who have never gone through a severe natural disaster must go beyond the amusement of watching the news. People go through real pain and anguish; none of us should be passive bystanders in the face of human suffering. There is always an opportunity to do our part in any capacity according to the resources we have available, regardless of how little it may seem; for those in need it means a great deal, so don’t hold back.

In times of natural disasters, we must beware of the many unscrupulous individuals that see tragedy as a way to scam people’s money through fake organizations pretending they are going to use the donations to help those in need. Be wise and do your homework to only donate to legitimate organizations you trust.  Be a good steward of the resources you are contributing. We, at Cultural Legacy support and join the relief efforts of reputable organizations that have a sound track record in the work they do whether at the national or international level.

When disaster strikes, it is not uncommon that God gets the blame for not stopping the destruction. Yes, God is love, but we must not ignore that he is also the one that sets the standards in place of how we should live. America is plagued with severe spiritual and moral diseases; this is lethal if these continue to go untreated. We are in a battle for the soul of this nation; the good news is we have the past centuries as a reference to go back to know what it was that led us to be an exceptional nation that has done so much good for the world.

If our confidence is in the God of the Bible, we react to natural disasters with renewed minds and commitment to transform our national problems.  To better help a world in crisis, we must be able to know which way is most efficient.