Homeless in New Orleans

Twenty-seven months ago, the god of this world faced the God of the universe and lost. A category 4 hurricane named "Katrina" (possibly from Greek katharos, "pure," denoting a purification?) slammed into the "Big Easy" after showing itself for about a week. The governments involved - local, state, and federal - responded dismally. And so, now there are twice as many homeless and the "big bad government" is set on making that number bigger by kicking free-loaders out of trailers to find rental property that is still being build (and over-priced).

A Ms. Tracy Bernard is featured in this story from the New York Times. The author, Susan Salsny, paints a bleak picture - including protest squatters at city hall and responsibility being laid at the federal government's feet for sub-par levees. After 1381 words, Ms. Bernard is quoted as saying:

“I know I’m going to find something,” she said. “I have faith. I know God’s going to work something out for us.”

That's right, the last sentence, just eight words from the end, mentions God. Nothing is said of the work of the church along the coast. Only once is a family with a home mentioned as a place to stay. Government must be there - the god of this world that lost when it mattered most! Even now, the church needs to stand in the gap. One day, it will be an ultimate choice - God or government? - which will it be for you?

For what it's worth, an amazing little tidbit from the "outer limits" - a "Bible Code" - might have tagged this one. To simplify this blog, I will include the basic code in the next blog.