Today, more than a full week removed from the snowstorm that blanketed our region, the last areas of snow on our roof will finally succumb to the warmth that is more normal for our island in January. It is not unheard of for our area to see a few snowflakes in winter, nor is it unusual for us to have a day or two of sub-freezing temperatures. However, what is incredibly unusual is for us to get enough snowflakes to amount to 3-4” of snow on top of ice, coupled with several consecutive days with high temperatures in the 30’s or low 40’s and nighttime lows at freezing or below. The end result is a situation where the only practical solution for the region is to simply wait for normal weather to return to melt away the snow and ice, clearing the roads and walkways so that people can once again move about without concern.
People in northern climates quickly point out that they might not even cancel school for a day when faced with the same sort of weather event, since they are accustomed to winter. Most of us will concede the point that we simply aren’t prepared for a winter storm down here. We don’t have an abundance of snowplows and salt trucks to clear the roads, or snow shovels and snowblowers for clearing our steps and driveways. However, our lack of preparations should not be confused with a lack of consideration for being prepared for a winter storm.
Individuals everywhere, and the governments that represent them, must always make decisions about how to allocate limited resources. Part of that decision-making process is the likelihood of events happening, and the potential outcomes if they happen. Turns out that winter storms down here are quite rare, perhaps occurring every ten years or so (the last one was seven years ago, but before that was several decades), but the cost of purchasing, maintaining, insuring, and operating snow removal equipment is significant. Therefore, the lack of preparation is a conscious decision that leads to our collective strategy of patiently waiting for snow and ice to melt, having determined that the cost to society of being brought to a standstill for a few days is less than the cost of being equipped and staffed to remove the hazards.
French mathematician Blaise Pascal performed a similar sort of exercise regarding the cost of preparing for death. Known as Pascal’s Wager, he was trying to logically consider whether it made more sense to accept Christianity or reject it. What Pascal found was that there were tangible behavioral and societal benefits to living life according to Christian principles that were experienced even if, in death, Christianity proved to be false. At the same time, if Christianity proved to be true, the cost in death to those who rejected Christianity is devastatingly incalculable. Therefore, Pascal concluded that the only reasonable response to the inevitable arrival of death is to be prepared by accepting Jesus as Lord.
You owe it to yourself to consider events that might reasonably impact your life, and determine how you want to respond to them. That goes for whether you are facing a winter storm, the end of your life, or a number of other possibilities. But in your deliberations, realize that while certain events might impact you, death most certainly will. It was a logical decision here to simply wait for snow to melt instead of clearing it away. Your decision on how to deal with your inevitable death should be similarly logical. I pray that you would see the same logic that was evident to Pascal.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron