article from OCTOBER 2006 ISSUE
Lessons from Tragedy
How Should You React When It Affects You?
BY JEFFREY R. AMBROSE AND BRUCE A. RITTER
At age 17, Danny was a fine young man who had grown up learning God’s Way. Rarely was he ever seen without a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. An industrious youth always ready to give a helping hand, Danny was in many ways a shining example of a terrific teenager with a golden attitude.
This is why his death (July 2006), the result of a tragic accident, stunned so many who knew him, both in the Church and in the world.
Danny had spent the day mowing five or six acres of land under the blistering heat of a hot summer day. When he had finished late in the afternoon, he wanted to go for a swim. He went to a friend’s house and called home, asking his mother permission to stay longer. She agreed. Since his friend had a swimming pool the assumption was the boys would swim there.
But this was not the plan. Danny did not tell her that he and his friends intended to swim at an abandoned strip mine. In the past Danny’s parents had told him never to swim in such locations, warning they are treacherous. But the boys, it was later told, went anyway because they “wanted to do something different.”
The three jumped into the cold, deep and murky waters of the quarry and, upon reaching the halfway point, Danny and one of the boys experienced an asthma attack. Danny safely returned to shore, while the other two boys made it to the other side of the quarry. After resting, they decided to get back into the water and look for Danny’s missing hat. Again, reaching the halfway point, Danny had another asthma attack. He turned around and headed for shore, but, only a few yards away from safety, his lungs gave out on him and his strength had waned. His friends tried to rescue him, but to no avail.
Danny had never swum in the quarry before; he was not a strong swimmer; and his strength was depleted from long hours of working under the hot sun. These factors, as well as failing to heed his parents’ past warnings, contributed to a fine young man suddenly and tragically losing his life.
This is a true story, written with the parents’ permission. It is hoped that the sobering lessons that spring from this tragic account will help all who read this article. Unlike teens in the world, and even some in the splinters, Danny was not a troublemaker or a sullen youth who chaffed at attending Church services—he was not a “fringer” who went out of his way to “live on the edge,” rather than live within the guiding confines of God’s Law. Even at a young age Dan was already setting a good example of the Way of God.
We can all look forward to seeing Dan again at the Second Resurrection.
God Allows Tragedies
When you are young and life seems to revolve around you, there is a tendency to think that horrible accidents and tragedies only happen to other people. Because you are full of energy and vigor, it’s tempting to think, “I’m invincible! Nothing can happen to me!” and “Bad things only happen to other people.”
Occasionally, teens may hear or read of another young person who was affected, or whose life was ended, by a tragedy. Often, in the high school years, it is the result of a car accident. Perhaps you have even lost a classmate to such an event. They dramatically change the lives of flesh-and-blood human beings. It happened to them—could it not happen to you? As a young person learning God’s way of life, are you completely immune to a sudden, harmful event?
Young people are susceptible to tragedy—in some ways, more than other age groups. And even in the Church, God does not always intervene and protect us, no matter our age. God warns that time and chance happen to everyone (Ecc. 9:11), even to those in His Church.
There are many examples. Consider: God gave up His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to undergo a brutal and horrific death—a penalty of pain and suffering He did not earn (John 3:16). God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery and later thrown into prison—again through no fault of Joseph’s. For years God allowed David to live on the run, pursued by King Saul, to whom he was loyal. He let the apostle Paul, one of the most zealous servants of God of all time, endure all kinds of difficulties, including eventual execution. Apparently, all but one of the original apostles were put to death for their beliefs.
In His Church down through the years, God has allowed tragedies, setbacks and life-changing accidents to affect His people, from the “hoary head” to the tiny infant.
Putting Physical Life in Perspective
For those willing to learn from them, tragedies bring sobering lessons. They are a powerful reminder that life—this physical existence—is temporary. Bodies age. Eyes grow dim. Legs, arms and backs lose their strength. All people, given enough time, grow old and die. King David was inspired to record, “For [God] knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more” (Psa. 103:14).
Yet in this temporary existence, God wants us to enjoy the good things of life. Notice Jesus Christ’s words: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Even the people in the world would agree to God’s desire. However, they have been deceived by the “god of this world” (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9) to pursue “the good life” on their own terms.
Generally speaking, one’s childhood years should be innocent and largely carefree, without the day-to-day stresses adults encounter. Yet Satan’s world does everything it can to steal away the innocence of youth, especially those in the Church of God. With increasingly risqué television programs, raunchy pop music and the “anything goes” Internet world of blogs, chatrooms and text messaging, young minds are being bombarded with scintillating attractions that seduce them away from the Way of God. When focused only on the “here and now” and physical things, lives are left empty, meaningless and without purpose.
Ecclesiastes 2 records that King Solomon dedicated a portion of his life to indulging in every whim and desire that appealed to his five senses. “And whatsoever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor,” he wrote (vs. 10).
And what did Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, conclude? That every physical desire he had indulged in was “vanity”—empty, meaningless—and “vexation of spirit” (vs. 11). Solomon discovered that chasing after the “good life” and all its physical pleasures is ultimately unfulfilling. Lacking the personal guidance of God, such lives are aimless.
Yes, God desires for all people to experience the “abundant life.” But that can only be done through living within the confines of His Law and way of life, which are “perfect,” “sure,” “pure,” “clean,” “true” and “righteous” (Psa. 19:7-9). “More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward” (vs. 10-11).
Tragedies remind us how short and fleeting human life is, and how important it is to look beyond this temporary human existence.
Determine to Learn
God’s Word states, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecc. 3:1). People are born, and people die; they plant, and they harvest (vs. 2). They take time to grieve and weep, and time to laugh, dance and enjoy life (vs. 4). Everything has a time and place.
In understanding and accepting this, there is both good and bad news. The good news is that when you are undergoing trials, troubles and suffering, they will be replaced by good times. The bad news is that when you are experiencing times of joy and celebration, bad times are ahead. Ecclesiastes 7:14 states, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also has set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.”
In your “day of prosperity,” be thankful that God is allowing you to experience a “time to laugh,” “dance,” “gather together” and “embrace.” Do not take life for granted. Appreciate and be grateful for what God has given you: the precious understanding of His truth, an opportunity for eternal life, potential rulership in the world tomorrow, and more.
Consequently, when the “day of adversity” comes—when severe trials and dramatic, life-changing events strike—stop and consider. Though painful, people learn far more from setbacks and defeat than from successes. Trials are sobering, and they can remind us that this life is passing, fleeting. Even Christ learned and grew through suffering (Heb. 5:8).
As you know, God has a Plan for every human being—past, present and future. You have the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of His Plan. This awesome future involves becoming leaders in the wonderful world to come, “inheriting all things” (Rev. 21:7), and gaining eternal life upon being born into the God Family.
The world is ignorant of this understanding. But you are not!
And if you put human existence in context with God’s Plan of salvation—recognizing that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (II Pet. 3:8)—the things we suffer in this life “are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18) upon Christ’s Return. We must also remember that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (vs. 28).
In the meantime, learn from trials, tragedies and setbacks. Do not allow yourself to assume that “accidents only happen to other people.” Think beyond the “here and now.” Avoid making rash and reckless decisions that will leave scars—both physical and emotional—that will not fade away.
Determine to learn from Dan’s story. It only takes one bad decision.
Be sober! Make wise choices; think a matter through before taking action. Sometimes simply stopping to consider the possible consequences of a decision can prevent a tragedy. Therefore, heed Proverbs 22:3 and learn to think of decisions in terms of “cause and effect.”
After working through the sorrow and shock of a tragedy, determine that good will come from it—starting with you!