Winter rain and anti-miracles
Recently, I heard a woman say,
"I want to thank God, because I asked him today to not let it rain, and he did, when it had been raining non-stop for the last 7 days. Praise God that I was able to dry my washing."
I take exception to this remark on a few levels.
For one, I knew, the previous week that it would actually rain all week, and be dry on Wednesday from the weather report on the internet. So I planned my washing based on this. I think this lady could have done the same. She needn't have fretted, she could have used widely available simple science to plan her life.
What I feel in this case is, that she falsely attributed the non-rain to a miracle from God especially for her to dry her clothes, when everyone else knew all along, from the weather station that it was going to be sunny because of meteorological conditions that had been calculated far before the woman sent this spontaneous prayer up. So even if she didn't pray, the so-called miracle would have occured, and she might not even have known it. Especially if she was like some of the men I know, who don't wash their clothes anyway.
Secondly, it seems pretty self-centred to ask God to make it stop raining *just* to dry your clothes.
Clean clothes are important. But making this remark in a country starved so much for water, that the authorities are considering implementing a tax on each time you flush the toilet is a little much.
What I am trying to say really is that sometimes these little flash prayers are sent up to a Santa Claus God, by christians without thinking of the bigger context. In fact, who knows, their "miracle" might cause an anti-miracle on the broader scale, and this is not just, and it is not wise.
For instance, for water to penetrete to deeper layers of the land, down into ground-water, where water can be accessed through wells, and feeding into lakes, the soil needs a certain degree of saturation. Otherwise, it will just run off the land, down to the sea, and be no good to anyone. To get this saturation it needs to rain continously for a certain amount of time. If God were to then heed to answering the prayer of this woman, then in fact, he is ignoring the water needs of an entire community.
Thirdly, it puts me off a bit, to think, that a God, would make meteorological changes, that is, changing the clouds, winds and tides, just so you can dry your clothes. Wouldn't you want to use this request for something far more dramatic than drying your socks? I don't mind God parting the red-sea for Moses, this was not simple laundry they were dealing with here.
These are just thoughts. but I need to add, that otherwise, the lady who made this remark, is generous, warm, and kind. I just wish, sometimes she, and others like her would think a bit, of the implications of what it is really they are asking for.
"I want to thank God, because I asked him today to not let it rain, and he did, when it had been raining non-stop for the last 7 days. Praise God that I was able to dry my washing."
I take exception to this remark on a few levels.
For one, I knew, the previous week that it would actually rain all week, and be dry on Wednesday from the weather report on the internet. So I planned my washing based on this. I think this lady could have done the same. She needn't have fretted, she could have used widely available simple science to plan her life.
What I feel in this case is, that she falsely attributed the non-rain to a miracle from God especially for her to dry her clothes, when everyone else knew all along, from the weather station that it was going to be sunny because of meteorological conditions that had been calculated far before the woman sent this spontaneous prayer up. So even if she didn't pray, the so-called miracle would have occured, and she might not even have known it. Especially if she was like some of the men I know, who don't wash their clothes anyway.
Secondly, it seems pretty self-centred to ask God to make it stop raining *just* to dry your clothes.
Clean clothes are important. But making this remark in a country starved so much for water, that the authorities are considering implementing a tax on each time you flush the toilet is a little much.
What I am trying to say really is that sometimes these little flash prayers are sent up to a Santa Claus God, by christians without thinking of the bigger context. In fact, who knows, their "miracle" might cause an anti-miracle on the broader scale, and this is not just, and it is not wise.
For instance, for water to penetrete to deeper layers of the land, down into ground-water, where water can be accessed through wells, and feeding into lakes, the soil needs a certain degree of saturation. Otherwise, it will just run off the land, down to the sea, and be no good to anyone. To get this saturation it needs to rain continously for a certain amount of time. If God were to then heed to answering the prayer of this woman, then in fact, he is ignoring the water needs of an entire community.
Thirdly, it puts me off a bit, to think, that a God, would make meteorological changes, that is, changing the clouds, winds and tides, just so you can dry your clothes. Wouldn't you want to use this request for something far more dramatic than drying your socks? I don't mind God parting the red-sea for Moses, this was not simple laundry they were dealing with here.
These are just thoughts. but I need to add, that otherwise, the lady who made this remark, is generous, warm, and kind. I just wish, sometimes she, and others like her would think a bit, of the implications of what it is really they are asking for.
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