#336

Divine Reminders: Life's Uncertainty And The Call To Faith

History Is A Good Teacher

We’ve heard that little bit of advice over and over again. At least history should be a good teacher if people actually know about it or care about it. The philosopher George Santayana is quoted as saying “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it,” and while that may be a misquote from “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” the point remains. History can teach us a lot, however overall, it doesn’t. In my lifetime businesses have tried to make changes that they lived to regret. AOL or America Online made some good moves early on, one of which was to send out CDs offering free trial access. Those CDs were everywhere and did the trick of getting new subscribers and making the audio clip “you’ve got mail” so popular a movie was made using that as the title. In December of 1996 they changed from an hourly fee to a monthly fee or 24 hour access. It worked too well and the servers collapsed under the strain of people using it. AOL never recovered from the bad PR. And then there was New Coke. In an article from history.com we read about that fateful decision:

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The time-tested adage appears to be the lesson from Coca-Cola’s disastrous introduction of “New Coke." Except in 1985, Coca-Cola indeed thought its signature brand was broken.

Although Coca-Cola remained the world’s best-selling soft drink, rival Pepsi-Cola continued to gain market share in the 1970s and early 1980s, thanks in part to its aggressive “Pepsi Challenge” campaign in which consumers taking blind taste tests were surprised to learn they preferred the flavor of Pepsi. To the shock of Coca-Cola, internal taste tests yielded the same results. Company executives grew convinced that its soda’s taste—not its rival’s advertisements targeting the “Pepsi Generation”—was the reason for its declining market share.

Coca-Cola quickly realized their mistake and brought back the old formula and eventually shelved the “New Coke” altogether. These two examples would seem to teach anyone willing to listen that things can indeed become a disaster in one day. But there are some that are the stuff of life and death.
A Beautiful Day In Pompeii

Pompeii was a thriving city near the base of Mount Vesuvius. Here is how another article from history.com describes the place:

The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum thrived near the base of Mount Vesuvius at the Bay of Naples. In the time of the early Roman Empire, 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, including merchants, manufacturers, and farmers who exploited the rich soil of the region with numerous vineyards and orchards. None suspected that the black fertile earth was the legacy of earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Herculaneum was a city of 5,000 and a favorite summer destination for rich Romans. Named for the mythic hero Hercules, Herculaneum housed opulent villas and grand Roman baths. Gambling artifacts found in Herculaneum and a brothel unearthed in Pompeii attest to the decadent nature of the cities. There were smaller resort communities in the area as well, such as the quiet little town of Stabiae.

All was well in the area until one day, August 24th of 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvius erupted. What happened next is described this way:

At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to an end when the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city’s occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption.

A westerly wind protected Herculaneum from the initial stage of the eruption, but then a giant cloud of hot ash and gas surged down the western flank of Vesuvius, engulfing the city and burning or asphyxiating all who remained. This lethal cloud was followed by a flood of volcanic mud and rock, burying the city.

The people who remained in Pompeii were killed on the morning of August 25 when a cloud of toxic gas poured into the city, suffocating all that remained. A flow of rock and ash followed, collapsing roofs and walls and burying the dead.

On August 23rd, all was well. People lived their lives as they always did ignoring the signs leading up to it erupting with earthquakes with a major one happening in 62 A.D. But since there hadn’t been activity for around 1,800 years, people really didn’t realize they were living next to a volcano.

People Still Live Near Mount Vesuvius

In Italy, Mount Vesuvius is still active and in the only one in Europe. It could erupt in a major way at any time yet people still live in the area with 700,000 people in what is called the “death zones” near the volcano. The volcano is the more deadly of my examples but it isn’t the only example of people electing to live in dangerous parts of the world even knowing that what happened in the past could very well happen again. When we look at even the people who refused to leave Mount St Helens in 1980 or thought they were a safe distance away, we’re reminded that men and women will continue to risk their lives or repeat the mistakes of past generations. Fortunately, not everyone living in Pompeii lost their lives and because of that we have eyewitness accounts of what happened, but those who survived the first wave thought they were ok only to get hit with the second wave of the volcanoes fury. However, knowing what we know now about these volcanoes, people still think it won’t happen to them.

Tomorrow Isn’t Given To Us

Need I remind us that Americans thought they were safe on September 10th of 2001 only to wake up on the next day to see that safety isn’t guaranteed. On that fateful morning, the United States and the world saw a graphic illustration of what happens when evil triumphs and good people’s warnings aren’t heeded. It isn’t my intention to break down the events that led to those attacks. I’m only pointing out the uncertainty of life and how even innocent people can be in our lives one day and not the next. Regardless of how it happens, whether through ignorance, stubbornness or to people who did everything right and still found themselves ushered into eternity. One can live always driving defensively, eat the right foods and exercise to stay in tip top shape and still be hit by another car or fall victim to a genetic disease or physical event that simply couldn’t have been foreseen or prevented. Regardless of how it happens, life can change or end in a split second. Jesus told us this when He told us about a rich man in Luke 12. In that parable that man went to bed thinking life was good and wouldn’t change but in verse 20 God told him that night his soul would be required of him. Then Jesus told them more about why He told them the story:

Jesus said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; or about your body, as to what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes…But [strive for and actively] seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 Do not be afraid and anxious, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

In James 4:14 we also see this:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (NKJV)

Just like the people of Pompeii or Mount St. Helens or those who went to work on 9/11 and even that rich man Jesus talked about, life is truly uncertain. When we read about a loved one who passed away as we all have done whether it was yesterday or years before, one lesson we need to learn is that if the Lord tarries, we will be that loved one. Let us live our lives as if today is all we have because it is.