Hinten-What Does a Christian Do?

As I write this, it is two days after what is being called the "attack on America," two days after planes were driven into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A student came into my office crying a few hours after the planes crashed, saying, "Dr. Hinten, I know you're a Christian. Can you help me make sense out of this tragedy?"

I said to her, "I'm glad to have you here, and we can talk about it together. But I can't cause a disaster to make sense. No one can do that." We did have quality conversation, and I hope God uses this event for her spiritual good. But her appeal to me, along with other events, has caused me to ponder this question: How is Christianity exemplified during a time of epic tragedy? What should Christians think, say and do? By the time you are reading this, you will have a longer-term perspective and can add your own insights, but here are some thoughts to consider along with your own reflections.

A Christian Doesn't Panic
Tuesday night, the night of the attack, my wife, Nancy, and I walked 11 blocks to the grocery store to get some fruit-juice concentrate. We walk to the store occasionally anyway, but that night we wanted to encourage in ourselves the habit of walking. Rumors were floating around Wichita (KS, where we live) of gasoline price hikes due to the attacks. Panicked motorists, according to TV news, were filling their tanks and could conceivably create short-term gas shortages. We had decided earlier in the evening that we would consider this an opportunity to get more exercise, and that if indeed gas stations ran out of gasoline, we would accept the situation with peace and would share one car for as long as necessary. With the time difference in our work schedules and the distance between our jobs, this would cause some inconvenience, but after seeing people crushed by rubble and overcome by smoke and flames, inconvenience didn't seem very important. Besides, even if gas did go up a dollar or two a gallon, would that be the end of the world?

Yes, it would — or at least one would have thought so, seeing the panic and confusion that met our eyes as we approached a nearby gas station. Every pump had long lines of cars trailing away from it. Drivers seemed to be crazed with fear that the station would run out of gas before they got there. I read the next day that school buses in Wichita were delayed up to 30 minutes in taking children home because they couldn't get past gas stations. Drivers were backed up into the streets and refused to give up their places in line. Fistfights broke out at some service stations as people argued over who was in line first. Police had to make numerous visits to gas stations that day to restore order and move traffic along.

During times of crisis, Christians should be role models of peace. We should speak words of calm to our friends, neighbors and family. We should try to avoid exaggeration in talking about "how bad things are likely to get." We should face possibilities of hardship with courage. Two things can cause destruction in a crisis: one is the crisis, and the other is people's response to it. I still remember how Johnny Carson once made a joke on The Tonight Show about a toilet paper shortage, not thinking people would take it seriously. Panic-stricken consumers rushed to stores in response, and the next day, in some places we actually did have a shortage! When crisis does come, whether personal, local or national, we need to be people who act with wisdom and self-control.

A Christian Doesn't Act Selfishly
Some people feather their own nests in tragedy, not from panic but from a coldly calculating desire to preserve themselves in comfort under any circumstances.

I ate lunch with a Christian friend, a respected executive, the day after the attack, and he told me what his response had been. "I decided whatever happened, my family wasn't going to suffer any inconvenience," he said. "After all, we didn't know what might happen with transportation and production in this country. When things go wrong, you've got to protect yourself first, right? So I called my wife and told her to go to the grocery store and stock up. I gave her a list of the foods and drinks we could use. Then I told her to fill the SUV with gas and try to think of anything else that we might like to have. That way our family would be secure even if things got worse." He actually thought this was a Christian response to the crisis!

There were other examples of selfishness around the country, of course. I noticed that after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, before the stock market could be closed the stock price of petroleum companies such as BP jumped up. Within minutes people were thinking of ways to make money from disaster! In times of crisis, Christians can be role models of unselfishness rather than trying to think of ways to come out ahead.

A Christian Gives in Advance
Whenever a tragedy occurs, whether in my own life or involving an organization I'm part of, I try to ask two questions: (1) Could I have done anything in advance to prevent or ease this problem? (2) Is there anything I should be doing now?

The second question is the one we tend to focus on, but the first is at least equally as important. I wrote these questions on the board the day after the attack and discovered that my students didn't really think there was anything they could do in advance to prevent or ease disasters. In this case, they were probably right about prevention: we can't stop a plane. But easing the impact of disasters is more manageable, and I think Christians ought to be involved in doing so.

One way is to be a regular blood donor. When the attack occurred, New York City hospitals already had low blood supplies, and those supplies were quickly used up. If more blood had been readily available, injured people could have been helped more quickly.

Of course, disasters of this magnitude are rare. But every day, people become injured in auto accidents or undergo surgery, and they need blood to recover effectively. In some areas surgeries have been delayed on occasion because of shortages in a needed blood type. If Christians who can donate (obviously not everyone can) will keep a steady supply of blood flowing to institutions such as the American Red Cross, we can be prepared for emergencies.

Speaking of donations, another way to prepare for emergencies in advance is to support disaster relief organizations. Numerous groups — the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, World Vision, etc. — are generally in the forefront of crisis situations, whether they are crises of weather, war or famine. By supporting one of these organizations financially, we indicate in advance that one aspect of Christianity is providing care in crisis.

A Christian Prays for Enemies
A friend of mine became a Christian 18 months ago. When I saw her the day after the attack, she said, "Marv, when the attack came I immediately thought of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So I began doing that, and I'm surprised that, even though I'm angry and want us to respond, I'm not filled with hatred for Palestinians the way I would have been in the past." I was surprised too — not that praying for enemies controlled her hatred, but that she thought to pray for our enemies in the first place!

I have heard from numerous Christians the past two days, both by e-mail and in person, and not a single long-term Christian has (up to this point) suggested praying for our enemies. Yet for this fairly new Christian, that was the automatic response; she just thought that's what Christians do! And I wondered whether this is a common distinction between people raised inside and outside the church — that new Christians do what Jesus said, and longtime Christians do what the church is used to doing. It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

A Christian Sees the Big Picture
For the past few months I have been teaching on 2 Corinthians, where one of the key themes is what I call "The Switch." Basically this means that things are not always what they seem. Sometimes what seems terrible (a car wreck, for instance) might help a person spiritually, and what seems wonderful (inheriting a lot of money, for example) might harm someone spiritually. There's no way to know at the time an event happens (and perhaps even later) what its overall impact on an individual or group will be. Thus 2 Corinthians 4:16b-17 says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

What is more important — the fate of the United States or the fate of a single individual? The answer seems obvious, but it really depends on how long the individual is going to live. If the United States will last a thousand years, and the individual will live for 80, the United States is more important. But if the individual is going to live for more than a billion trillion years, the individual is more important.

What hope do we have to offer ourselves and others in a time of great tragedy? It's our view that this world, pockmarked with suffering and disappointment, is not the whole picture — that the real landscape of believers stretches out for an eternity of unbroken peace, security and joy.




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As I write this, it is two days after what is being called the "attack on America," two days after planes were driven into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A student came into my office crying a few hours after the planes crashed, saying, "Dr. Hinten, I know you're a Christian. Can you help me make sense out of this tragedy?" I said to her, "I'm glad to have you here, and we can talk about it together. But I can't cause a disaster to make sense. No one can do that." We did have quality conversation, and I hope God uses this event for her spiritual good. But her appeal to me, along with other events, has caused me to ponder this question: How is Christianity exemplified during a time of epic tragedy? What should Christians think, say and do? By the time you are reading this, you will have a longer-term perspective and can add your own insights, but here are some thoughts to consider along with your own reflections. A Christian Doesn't Panic Tuesday night, the night of the attack, my wife, Nancy, and I walked 11 blocks to the grocery store to get some fruit-juice concentrate. We walk to the store occasionally anyway, but that night we wanted to encourage in ourselves the habit of walking. Rumors were floating around Wichita (KS, where we live) of gasoline price hikes due to the attacks. Panicked motorists, according to TV news, were filling their tanks and could conceivably create short-term gas shortages. We had decided earlier in the evening that we would consider this an opportunity to get more exercise, and that if indeed gas stations ran out of gasoline, we would accept the situation with peace and would share one car for as long as necessary. With the time difference in our work schedules and the distance between our jobs, this would cause some inconvenience, but after seeing people crushed by rubble and overcome by smoke and flames, inconvenience didn't seem very important. Besides, even if gas did go up a dollar or two a gallon, would that be the end of the world? Yes, it would — or at least one would have thought so, seeing the panic and confusion that met our eyes as we approached a nearby gas station. Every pump had long lines of cars trailing away from it. Drivers seemed to be crazed with fear that the station would run out of gas before they got there. I read the next day that school buses in Wichita were delayed up to 30 minutes in taking children home because they couldn't get past gas stations. Drivers were backed up into the streets and refused to give up their places in line. Fistfights broke out at some service stations as people argued over who was in line first. Police had to make numerous visits to gas stations that day to restore order and move traffic along. During times of crisis, Christians should be role models of peace. We should speak words of calm to our friends, neighbors and family. We should try to avoid exaggeration in talking about "how bad things are likely to get." We should face possibilities of hardship with courage. Two things can cause destruction in a crisis: one is the crisis, and the other is people's response to it. I still remember how Johnny Carson once made a joke on The Tonight Show about a toilet paper shortage, not thinking people would take it seriously. Panic-stricken consumers rushed to stores in response, and the next day, in some places we actually did have a shortage! When crisis does come, whether personal, local or national, we need to be people who act with wisdom and self-control. A Christian Doesn't Act Selfishly Some people feather their own nests in tragedy, not from panic but from a coldly calculating desire to preserve themselves in comfort under any circumstances. I ate lunch with a Christian friend, a respected executive, the day after the attack, and he told me what his response had been. "I decided whatever happened, my family wasn't going to suffer any inconvenience," he said. "After all, we didn't know what might happen with transportation and production in this country. When things go wrong, you've got to protect yourself first, right? So I called my wife and told her to go to the grocery store and stock up. I gave her a list of the foods and drinks we could use. Then I told her to fill the SUV with gas and try to think of anything else that we might like to have. That way our family would be secure even if things got worse." He actually thought this was a Christian response to the crisis! There were other examples of selfishness around the country, of course. I noticed that after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, before the stock market could be closed the stock price of petroleum companies such as BP jumped up. Within minutes people were thinking of ways to make money from disaster! In times of crisis, Christians can be role models of unselfishness rather than trying to think of ways to come out ahead. A Christian Gives in Advance Whenever a tragedy occurs, whether in my own life or involving an organization I'm part of, I try to ask two questions: (1) Could I have done anything in advance to prevent or ease this problem? (2) Is there anything I should be doing now? The second question is the one we tend to focus on, but the first is at least equally as important. I wrote these questions on the board the day after the attack and discovered that my students didn't really think there was anything they could do in advance to prevent or ease disasters. In this case, they were probably right about prevention: we can't stop a plane. But easing the impact of disasters is more manageable, and I think Christians ought to be involved in doing so. One way is to be a regular blood donor. When the attack occurred, New York City hospitals already had low blood supplies, and those supplies were quickly used up. If more blood had been readily available, injured people could have been helped more quickly. Of course, disasters of this magnitude are rare. But every day, people become injured in auto accidents or undergo surgery, and they need blood to recover effectively. In some areas surgeries have been delayed on occasion because of shortages in a needed blood type. If Christians who can donate (obviously not everyone can) will keep a steady supply of blood flowing to institutions such as the American Red Cross, we can be prepared for emergencies. Speaking of donations, another way to prepare for emergencies in advance is to support disaster relief organizations. Numerous groups — the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, World Vision, etc. — are generally in the forefront of crisis situations, whether they are crises of weather, war or famine. By supporting one of these organizations financially, we indicate in advance that one aspect of Christianity is providing care in crisis. A Christian Prays for Enemies A friend of mine became a Christian 18 months ago. When I saw her the day after the attack, she said, "Marv, when the attack came I immediately thought of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So I began doing that, and I'm surprised that, even though I'm angry and want us to respond, I'm not filled with hatred for Palestinians the way I would have been in the past." I was surprised too — not that praying for enemies controlled her hatred, but that she thought to pray for our enemies in the first place! I have heard from numerous Christians the past two days, both by e-mail and in person, and not a single long-term Christian has (up to this point) suggested praying for our enemies. Yet for this fairly new Christian, that was the automatic response; she just thought that's what Christians do! And I wondered whether this is a common distinction between people raised inside and outside the church — that new Christians do what Jesus said, and longtime Christians do what the church is used to doing. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? A Christian Sees the Big Picture For the past few months I have been teaching on 2 Corinthians, where one of the key themes is what I call "The Switch." Basically this means that things are not always what they seem. Sometimes what seems terrible (a car wreck, for instance) might help a person spiritually, and what seems wonderful (inheriting a lot of money, for example) might harm someone spiritually. There's no way to know at the time an event happens (and perhaps even later) what its overall impact on an individual or group will be. Thus 2 Corinthians 4:16b-17 says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." What is more important — the fate of the United States or the fate of a single individual? The answer seems obvious, but it really depends on how long the individual is going to live. If the United States will last a thousand years, and the individual will live for 80, the United States is more important. But if the individual is going to live for more than a billion trillion years, the individual is more important. What hope do we have to offer ourselves and others in a time of great tragedy? It's our view that this world, pockmarked with suffering and disappointment, is not the whole picture — that the real landscape of believers stretches out for an eternity of unbroken peace, security and joy.