Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Abandoning Ship

The press is having a field day with the half-sunken Costa Concordia for what probably is going to boil down to a grown man acting like a little boy.

From what I can gather from the coverage, El capitan decided to steer the boat a little closer to shore to either thrill the mainlanders OR those on board OR himself OR all of the above.

And, the result of taking a dare?  Even a self-imposed one?  Disaster.  Something most ten-year-olds have figured out by the time they've had their second broken arm and third set of stitches and their Mother is threatening them within a millimeter of their lives about setting foot in another ER before they hit 53.

And here is where the real lesson becomes crystal-clear:  Veering off course means that you might end up in trouble.  And when you end up in trouble as a result of your own actions?  You have to take the blame and deal with the consequences of your actions.

That's where brother failed.  He literally abandoned ship. 

I can't help but compare his actions to Christ.

Though He was faultless and blameless and sinless, Christ ended up in trouble because of the things He was doing and saying (which, of course, were truth).  The people of His day, who felt He was a blasphemer and a fraud and not worthy of saving ahead of a known criminal, were having none of it!  And, as a result, He knew He would have to deal with the consequences;  He would have to perish.

But, when Christ's "ship" sunk, did He abandon it?  NO!  He looked death head-on and died for all.

Here's what I know about captaining a ship:  you are the last one out.  You are the one who shuts the door and turns out the lights.  Everyone is counting on you to do that.

And, because Christ did that for all of us, including the captain of the Concordia?  We have forgiveness for our sin.

Captain made a mistake.  A costly mistake compounded by another mistake.  But, just like you and me, He can ask for forgiveness BECAUSE Christ didn't abandon the ship.

And, I hope, once the dust settles on all of this, that the press finds it in their hearts to focus on the true tragedy here:  the families who will not be able to welcome home their loved ones when the Concordia was supposed to dock.

When we turn out attention toward those who perished and those they left behind, we focus on showing love and peace and comfort amidst a horrible situation.

But, first, we have to stop crucifying and stirring up hatred and placing oodles of blame on a man who made a horrible mistake.  We need to let the investigations take place and the evidence be gathered and the true story be put in place.  And we need to learn from it.  And, yes, the captain needs to face his punishment, when all the proper work has been completed and submitted to a court of law.

Trust me, people of the press, captain is in his own Hell right now.  You don't need to help that process along.

Please allow us to get to know those who needlessly died.  Please let us know who they are survived by.  Please don't let them get overlooked so you can get more website hits or sell more magazines or increase the nightly news ratings.

Oh, that we would live in a world that embraced love rather than hatred!

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:18)



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