As I read about the devastation from Hurricane Helene, I thought about how people of faith have an advantage in dealing with terrible trials such as this. We know we are not alone. We know who to call upon for help.
Those who missed the brunt of Helene know that it could have been us, as it was for our county with Hurricane Camille in 1969. Instead of over 25 inches of rain, mostly in a five-hour period of time, Keith and I measured 8 ½ inches Monday through Friday last week, and another 5 inches from yesterday to this morning—and more expected through Wednesday. Some road wash, and trickling streams that are now waterfalls, but that’s about it here at Vanaprastha.
Sipping my coffee, I also thought about how these days the word “advantage” is often associated with “privilege,” as if both were something about which we should feel guilty. Instead of guilt for “privileges” such as the food, clean water, shelter, and means for communication we have, I reflected upon advantage as blessing, gift, and warning.
Taking the advantage in tennis
My granddaughter is an avid tennis player. In games, she and her fellow players use the term “ad,” meaning “advantage,” when a game is tied 40-all—each player has scored three times, otherwise known as deuce. At deuce, a player must then score two consecutive points in order to win. If the server wins the next point, the score is “advantage server.” If either case, server or receiver, “ad” puts the player in a more favorable position.
To my thinking, “advantage” in tennis is similar to “check” in chess. So, taking the advantage is good thing, getting one closer to winning, as having faith gets one closer to the eternal win. But.
James warns us in 2:14-17: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith must align with action.
Taking advantage of others
Whenever there are opportunities to do good, there’re also opportunities to do otherwise. We are admonished not to take advantage of one another, as here in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians 4:6—and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before.
Some people will likely set up fake aid sites, as we’ve seen with other disasters, to scam good-hearted folks out of donations and to enrich themselves instead of helping those in desperate need. Internet scams are common, sophisticated, and believable. God knows, we are sinful human beings, and thus the many scripture warnings against taking advantage of others, specially the vulnerable, sick, or elderly.
Our actions must align with our faith.
In his May 13, 2023 speech, “The Most Important Decision in Life,” at Hillsdale College’s 171st Commencement Ceremony, Bishop Robert Barron put it this way: “…one of these truths, which is articulated over and again in the great Western intellectual tradition… is typically accessed by means of a question—not the question of what we are to do, as important as that is, but rather what kind of person we ought to be. Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Or do we seek our own advantage? In a way, there is no question in the moral and spiritual order more fundamental than that.”
Who we are and what we do are among the most important decisions we make in our lives. And we all gain advantage or disadvantage from our choice.
Taking advantage of opportunities
How can we take advantage of opportunities, to put ourselves in a favorable position to help our neighbors in Helene-ravaged areas? This, from a retired Lutheran Pastor and dear friend who happened to be visiting the Asheville area, the epicenter of destruction.
- Thank God for the massive relief efforts underway.
- Support our church district’s disaster response teams.
- Pray in gratitude for what we have; pray that we never forget to give God thanks.
Amen. Let it be so.
Linkup with Five Minute Friday: https://fiveminutefriday.com/2024/09/26/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-advantage/?
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