As authorities in China mobilize relief efforts in the catastrophic aftermath of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake, the plight of cyclone devastated Myanmar is growing.
According to an AFP news agency article, the United Nations is warning that Myanmar is now facing an even greater disaster that could push the death toll far beyond the current estimate of 100,000 unless the ruling junta opens a wider door to international relief agencies. The United Nations Secretary General said, “Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today’s current crisis.”
The article goes on to say that, “Myanmar’s generals remain deeply suspicious of the outside world and fearful of any foreign influence which could weaken their control on every aspect of life in this poor and isolated nation, formerly known as Burma.”
In this developing crisis, what could be worse than for a ruling regime to block help for desperate mothers, fathers, and children– because leaders are afraid of losing control of what they will eventually lose anyway?
The reaction of the generals has within it echoes of what happened when Jesus offered relief to the oppressed and dying people of his day. Religious leaders hated him for it. They envied his growing influence, and feared that they were losing control (Mark 15:10; John 7:31-32).
As I’ve continued to think about that envy, and fear of losing control… I’ve found it not only in the streets of Jerusalem, and not only in the government offices of Myanmar– but staring at me from within my own heart…
Part of me wants to see how often I’ve acted on such impulses. Part of me doesn’t want to know.
What I do know is that the apostle James wrote, “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil” (James 3:16). In an earlier post I suggested that the Bible can be better understood if we assume that whatever it urges us to do– is the opposite of our fallen human inclination. By this logic, ever since the fall of our first parents, self-protection, even at the expense of others, has been a default setting of our own hearts.
What do you think? Am I being too negative? Or would such inclinations help to explain the worst case scenarios of the world: our shared tendency to resist the principles of Christ and his kingdom– for fear of losing control– of what we will eventually lose anyway.
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