It is better to read the weather forecast before we pray for rain. – Mark Twain
Tornadoes hit the Northfield area yesterday. Lots of damage to houses and farms just outside of town but no one was hurt. The news media accounts of people’s experiences in tornadoes are usually pretty interesting, and this batch was no exception.
If a tornado just misses someone’s house, jumping erratically for inexplicable reasons, we get a quote thanking God for sparing their house. If someone’s house gets hit partially, we get a quote thanking God that most of the house was spared. If someone’s house gets obliterated, we get a quote thanking God that no one was hurt. If someone gets hurt, we get a quote thanking God that no one was killed. And if someone gets killed, we get a quote thanking God that more people weren’t killed.
I know this makes for juicy news reports. But I can’t help thinking that this habit of linking God to natural disasters doesn’t do God a disservice — or put another way, diminish the benefits that a different spiritual view of the world could provide.
God help these people! 😉 Maybe I should write a letter to the Northfield News. I wrote one to Strib a couple of weeks ago about the flood-related prayers but they never ran it. Too irreverent, I guess.