I sat at my computer screen and watched another natural disaster unfold, this must be the third or fourth in the last eighteen months; each disaster worse than the last. This according to Ban Ki-moon being the worst humanitarian crisis he has ever seen with an estimated 20 million people affected and estimated 3.5 million children at risk of dying from water borne disease, and starvation – basically the population of Australia. The sheer numbers of victims in this disaster is overwhelming, and beyond my ability to visualize.

As I reached again for my wallet to contribute in a small way to the relief, I read that the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said troops fighting insurgents in the north had not been redeployed to help the relief effort and that he feared the growing desperation of flood victims could play into the hands of extremists who were delivering aid..

I felt my heart sink at the thought that once again war and politics would reign over compassion and human crisis.

This might very well be an irreconcilable conundrum for a politician – but for a follower of Christ the answer is very clear – love and the lives of the people especially children come first.

Ok so I’m a Pollyanna:  I think that when you have 20 million people at risk of dying from starvation and disease then that‘s where your troops go – not to the border to continue fighting insurgents.

To further seal my fate as a Pollyanna, might I suggest that this catastrophe could be an opportunity for all – the Pakistani Government, their Military, the Insurgents and the International Community to come together to fight a common enemy, disease, starvation and death.

I had to question myself, was my small donation in fact only contributing towards the Pakistani war effort? Maybe – but I also know that it is irrelevant what others do – I am responsible to God only for the choice I make.

Lord give me the wisdom and strength to only see others as you do, so that the worlds last will become my first.

Be Sociable, Share!

•