Crashing into the Amish Buggy
12/8/13
Modern technology and all of its wonders can make life so
much simpler for everyone. This is a
true fact and one that carries much weight throughout the international
community. Most of the world now enjoys connectivity
with other parts of the world due to the availability of the internet. But what happens when someone devises a plan
to sabotage or disrupt these connections.
Will we be totally vulnerable while these systems are down or will we
understand how to fend for ourselves in these times of turmoil? Having the technological capabilities to talk
to a friend across the world is a fabulous option, but what happens when that
technology crashes into the Amish buggy?
There was a tragic news story that came out of
Pennsylvania this past week about an Amish horse drawn buggy that was hit by a
semi tractor trailer on a rural road. It
was not a very pretty scene since the majority of the occupants inside the
buggy were killed almost immediately after the truck struck the carriage. The driver of the truck had no injuries at
all and the huge truck that he was driving sustained very minor damage;
however, the buggy was totally demolished along with the wrecked family members
of the Amish family. This is a tragedy
that no one ever wants to hear about but it still happens especially when
tradition and the old ways collide with modern technology.
The roads that are provided for all of us are open to
everyone and we all need to make sure that we understand this concept. We, personally, do not own the road that we
are on, but we are on its pathway that someone else has paved for us. We also must keep in mind that thousands or
even millions of people have travelled this same path before your car, truck,
bike or foot ever made its presence felt on that surface. The one thing that we do have in common with
all of the previous travelers is that we are on the same path at some point in
time of our life and at any moment our life or the lives of our family members
can change in an instant. And with this
example I must say from the beginning, we all need to be ready to meet our
Creator at a moment’s notice.
The roads that we travel during our lifetime have been
crossed many times before by people who are just like us. Here are no exceptions to this rule and no
one is exempt from having an easy time in life.
When our road becomes our torture chamber we need to remember that our
experience has been trodden upon by others just like us and that our paved,
straight and smooth road can transform into a curvy dirt road in a blink of an
eye. In some instances this change of
settings can be made affordable with the modern conveniences of technology but
in some cases all the modern technology in the world cannot save us from the pain
of our road.
I recently travelled to southeast Texas to attend my
niece’s college graduation. It was my
first time back in that area in quite some time and as I was trekking through
my old stomping grounds I noticed that many of the scenery that I had once
witnessed with my eyes had drastically changed. The roads were definitely wider
and better and even many of the houses and businesses had been uprooted and
been replaced by other civilized ordinances.
With all of the changes to the area I still could not forget the many
times that I had travelled this road going back and forth for various reasons
and while it had changed in many ways, the road was still considerably long and
windy. Even with the better technological
car that I was driving this time, the road was still somewhat difficult to
navigate and I knew that if any person, animal or car that would appear as I
rounded a curve there would be trouble for everyone.
When a person looks at these types of contexts it would
be easy to draw the conclusion that any modern vehicle would have an advantage
over a single animal or person if the two ever came into contact with each
other while moving. But as we all know
there are certain situations which the person in the vehicle comes out as the
loser when this type of contact is made.
This type of scene actually sets the stage for the general idea of this
article in which no matter if a person believes that they have the technical
advantage in some manner, the grounds are level when contact with any other
living being has been made. This type of
framework withholds how our enemy can use what we have presented onto the
canvass against us when he sees an opportunity.
It would seem like that humans would always stick to the
normal game plan when it comes to trying to create an edge over the
opposition. But any of us who have been
involved in any type of friendly competition understands that the opponent will
not conform to the everyday rules continuously.
Many times we have witnessed an underdog pull out a trick play to seal
an upset over a highly touted team or a smaller business outbid a larger
company for a ground breaking building project which catapults that small
business into a well known company. And
we cannot forget the old saying that all is fair in love and war, which means
that playing dirty, can be presented by either side at any time. So why do we continue to warrant the idea of
having a relaxed atmosphere when there is a potential for danger? It is because we have become comfortable in our
toys that have allowed us to gain access to everyone’s stage with ease.
We then have the audacity to gauge the so called loser of
our challenges as lower than us or maybe administer an embarrassment to them by
labeling them as backwards, cowards, or any other derogatory name that our
society can dream up. How do we come to
grips with ourselves when we place our lives on a pedestal and deliberately
step on heads to elevate our egos to this standard? Even when a team can claim to be the champion
of their sport they still had to play someone who reached the same level as
they did and so it is in real life.
No matter what efforts we try to avoid, clashes between
humans will occur and someone will have to win and the others involved will
draw the short straw. Having a smaller
team or not having the updated quality of gadgets does not make a person
inferior to those who have more or better, in fact the ones who have less often
are more creative than those who have the more advanced technology because of the
skills it takes to think are used more under the technological radar. But which one of these contestants is wrong
for having their respective equipment whether it be advanced or not? Underneath all of the armor a human being
lies within who is as equal as the next person and should be treated as a human
being just as a goliath would be.
This issue actually comes to light within the Church and
creates more division within the body of Christ than healing to the world. Each denomination is represented by a human
being. It does not matter which
denomination a person is referring to, the bottom line is that in order for a
denomination to exist it must contain at least one human being. There are huge denominations that stretch to
the ends of the earth and then there are those that are isolated within a small
corner of a country. Does the size of a
denomination make their views and points automatically correct? No!!
The same goes for a small church organization as well because it does
not matter what size a church gathering may be, the damage or growth to another
human can be identical.
It is the human being that has the sole capability to
penetrate another human being, and then it is the work of God who brings forth
light from within. I do not care if a
person is a Catholic or a Methodist, if that person demonstrates the love of
Christ to others ten they are identical with me through Jesus. God has the potential to use everyone that
seeks after Him and it does not matter which field of work that you represent
either. God shows me things to write
about yet I have no specific clue who each one of my articles are for but I am
not going to argue with God about why I am doing this. Another person may drive a bus on Sunday or
preach the Word of God from a pulpit and yes, even custodians are part of the
mission of Christ to a dying world.
If a person drives an old beat up car, so be it. I have known a monk that walked everywhere no
matter what the weather conditions were because he chose not to have a
car. On the other hand I know another
monk that drives his car all around the state visiting family and friends. Both monks have different faiths yet I would
allow both of them to pray for myself and / or one of my family members without
even questioning. So what if an Amish
lady drives in a wooden buggy that arrives at the grocery store before your
Cadillac does, does this give you the authority to yell at her and call her
names?
Our lives are filled with enough crashes and clashes that
will do plenty of damage to our lives without us inflicting similar and
intentional wounds from our mouths and actions.
Technology was not created to separate classes of people nor was the
Church defined as the intimidating force to gain people access to God through
manipulative methods. God did not create
the human race in order to force them to serve His ways; He created us in order
to prove to His, and our, immortal enemy that He loves us and that we have the
opportunity to choose Him on our own.
Crashing into a wooden buggy should not be the means that
defines how we come into contact with those who are lost. Making fun of those who do not believe in the
same manner or see eye to eye as we do falls into the same category. It does not matter which side of the game one
plays the object is to win but to keep the level of play equal enough to ensure
no hatred follows. The goal of humanity
is to bring people together but this shall never happen if we voluntarily place
labels and blame upon those who we are trying to convert. We can still have a wonderful relationship
with the person or family that rides in a horse drawn buggy, in fact I would
absolutely love to ride in one just to see what it is like to travel in that
manner.
We need to understand that each one of us will differ in
some manner from others. Even our
closest friend that we can ever have will not believe exactly the same way as
you. God is the only being who can make
sure that the divisions that we humans create can be mended and healed. Living with differences is normal and it is
healthy when another sides of the issue politely challenges us to think about
what we believe and to scrape up the courage to respond in love about our
beliefs. God loves us in every way
possible and it is His desire that we all understand His ways. Denominational beliefs are just that,
divisions that were created by man to hinder the advancement of God’s
Kingdom. Yes, denominations are with us
and yes they will serve their grounds but it is those who trust in God more
than their denomination that will find God for our utmost.
DLB
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