Connected

The hill, once covered densely with trees, is now covered with loose dirt and a few struggling shrubs. A little down the hill is a village of around 40 houses. Each one, 7 to 10 feet off the ground, was built on top of wooden stilts. The part above the ground, on stilts, is a one roomed bedroom. The family sleeps there and most of their worldly possessions are on that level. The space on the ground is used as the kitchen area- where the family cooks and eats together. The area around the house is swept bare, no garbage and not much greenery around the house. This is what the community wants- cleanliness.

However during the rainy season, the rains would bring streams of water, mudslides and erosion. The roads become impassable. Some of the houses have tried to construct barriers in front of their house so that water does not flood the house or wash household items away. I could see that the lack of trees above the village is contributing to the problem during the rainy season, but I wasn’t sure if the villagers could make that connection.

I knew that for them to understand the linkages between deforestation and the flash floods in the village would take a longer conversation.

I asked the community if they see the deforestation as a problem and what they plan to do about the barren hillside that brought mud and flood water into their village during the rainy season. The village responded that they don’t see this as a huge problem since it is only during the rainy season. The rest of the year, it is fine. They had solutions so that their houses would not be affected by the rain. I didn’t press further because I knew that for them to understand the linkages between deforestation and the flash floods in the village would take a longer conversation.

This community did not see the linkage between the trees they cut down for firewood and the small floods that occur when it rains. They can deal with the challenges now, but do not see how that problem is silently growing and will become less manageable in the future. Many times in our lives we don’t see the linkages between two separate events. We fail to see how an insignificant event happening in another part of the world can affect us. We construct mental and physical walls thinking that we can protect ourselves from those effects.

What about the butterfly effect- the idea that small, trivial events may lead to something with much larger consequences. For example, when a butterfly flaps its wings in India, that tiny change in air pressure could eventually cause a tornado in the US.

Let us meditatively pray through the news that we read in the papers and ask God how we should respond to them.

We are connected. The scripture says that we are One Body- “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:5) When one part of the body is in pain, the rest of the body is affected. We may not see that we are part of the same body. We see those events and people as “other” and not one of “us”.

The drought that has destroyed the crops in Malawi that could mean that many families will be without food… effects me?

The pain of the Gazan mother who lost her 6-year-old daughter Hind Rajab… effects me?

In Missouri, homeless people who sleep in public parks or under city highways could be fined up to $750 or spend 15 days in prison for multiple offenses. How should I care about that?

During this Lenten season, as we observe a period of fasting, repentance, moderation, self-denial and prayer. Let us meditatively pray through the news that we read in the papers and ask God how we should respond to them. Let us remember how we are all connected. And as God weeps for those things, he calls us to weep as well… even if we can’t see how we are connected.