Hit 'em Again

Well, it appears that greed has finally trumped wisdom setting off the worst man-made natural disaster ever. The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska is literally a drop in the ocean compared to what’s happening in the Gulf of Mexico off the shore of Louisiana. Over 5000 barrels (probably a very low conservative guess) of crude oil has been leaking into the gulf waters every day since April 20th, now more than thirty days. Alaska was a long ways away in 1989, but the lessons not learned then have come home to roost in our back yard. The fishing industry in much of the gulf could come to past. Shrimp, oysters, crawfish, dolphins and whatever kind of ocean creature you can think of is going to suffer greatly, not to mention the fishermen losing their livelihood for who knows how long. The favorite vacation spots along the coast are pretty much going to lose their luster and usefulness. Oh, I’m not talking about the lose of summer vacationer revenue, no not at all. I was thinking more about the millions of birds that won’t have a place to go for the winter coming up and maybe many winters to come. Maybe Northerner’s ought to take plenty of pictures of ducks and geese to show their grandchildren. Anyone who thinks this whole mess will be cleaned up before this winter needs to crawl out from under the rock where their living. Only time will tell how many states will be effected by this spill, not only Gulf States, but also, even the possibility of some Atlantic States as the ocean currents move the oil. Think of what a hurricane might do with all this oil.
“I’ll make a suit for you”, agreed the overworked tailor, “but it won’t be ready for at least thirty days.” “Thirty days!” protested the customer. “Why it only took the good Lord six days to create the whole world.” “True”, noted the tailor, “but have you looked at it lately?”
A crumbling old church building needed remodeling, so during his sermon, the preacher made an impassioned appeal, looking directly at the richest man in town. At the end of the sermon, the rich man stood up and announced, “Preacher, I will contribute $1000.” Just then, plaster fell from the ceiling, striking the rich man on the shoulder. He promptly stood back up and shouted, “Preacher, I will increase my donation to $5000.” Before he could sit down again, more plaster fell from the weak ceiling striking him, and he virtually screamed, “Preacher, I will double my last pledge!” He sat down and a large chunk of plaster fell on his head. He stood up once more and hollered, “Preacher, I’ll give $20,000!” Excitement filled the auditorium prompting a deacon to shout, “Hit him again Lord! Hit him again!”
[Ecclesiastes 5: 8 - 6: 12] I don’t want to get off on a rant here making you think I’m dead set against capitalism and the good life. I believe my heavenly Father wants the best for me and I thank God every day for being born in the land of milk and honey. I also believe fewer and fewer people are doing so. People are not waking, thanking their God for another day and all the good things it holds in store; rather they’re waking up cursing the day because they can’t keep up with their neighbor. Lying and cheating, short-changing and short sheeting is becoming a way of life in this country and the consequences are sprouting everywhere. Remember, you reap what you sow. I’m afraid the elders seated around the throne are yelling, “Hit ‘em again Lord! Hit ‘em again!”