The Guts of Gustav

In the week leading up to Hurricane Gustav and the time following the storm, I've seen some of the best in humanity. I've seen neighbors helping neighbors to board up their houses. I've seen families welcoming two, sometimes three or more families into their homes. When one man's family got power back in their house, he loaded up his generator and a gas can into his truck and dropped it off at the house of someone else who didn't have power yet. It's always a joy to see how God uses even the worst of circumstances to bring forth good fruit.

I've also, unfortunately, seen some of the worst. As far as I can tell, we haven't had the wide-spread looting that followed Katrina. However, I've been first-hand witness to racism, political maneuvering, and blame shifting as a result of events that happened during and after the storm. It's always sad to see what fallen man can bring forth--even in the best of circumstances, but especially in the worst of circumstances.

I'm not saying anything new or profound, of course. We all know that we are sinners by nature, fallen. It's just . . . it's so disappointing to witness the depths to which we can sink when there is so much good God gives us to do.