Job 1:20-22 (NIV)
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his
head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I
will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of
the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with
wrongdoing.
For every action, there is a reaction. Everything we do
in life has consequences, some positive, some catastrophic. The Klondike Gold
Rush was no different.
Although some of the prospective miners were driven by a
sense of adventure and by the desire to explore and see new things, many were
driven by greed and were ruthless in their methods of obtaining gold.
Primitive mining methods, such as digging sediments by
hand from stream banks and underground tunnels, seemed harmless enough; but
these left extensive damage to the stream and river beds. When the larger mines
were established, hillsides and entire mountains were plundered and silt and
mud filled the waterways. Forests were completely stripped in order to supply
timber for building boats and for feeding the fires needed to melt the
sediments.
As the twentieth century rolled around, the richest and
most easily accessed gold deposits had already been depleted, and harsher, more
destructive machinery, designed to reach the deeper deposits and process the
sediment faster, was brought in. High-pressure hoses completely knocked down
hills in the ruthless search, and huge dredges reworked entire waterways. The
destruction was colossal.
This total loss of natural habitat resulted in
annihilation of both land and aquatic wildlife. In addition, an overabundance
of mercury, which was used to process the gold, can still be found in the
Yukon. It has made its way up the food chain and still accumulates in fish and
other wildlife in alarming concentrations, resulting in health risks among
humans and animals alike.
The ones who suffered the most from extensive destruction
were the first nation's people, including the Tagish, the Tutchone, and the
Tlingit. Because of its massive mountain ranges, ice fields, harsh terrain, and
wild rivers, the Yukon had always been extremely hard to access; and before the
gold rush, these First Nations groups had been quite isolated from the outside
world. No wonder the Yukon was considered the last unexplored and unmapped
region in North America!
With the influx of white man seeking gold, all of this
changed. Miners brought diseases that the first peoples had no immunity to, and
in many areas, entire tribes were wiped out. Hunting and fishing grounds were
destroyed, making food sources scarce, and what wildlife remained was laced
with high concentrations of mercury. Some of the natives worked as packers or
as suppliers of wood for steamboats. They were unaccustomed to cash however,
and few ever profited. Their traditional lifestyle was lost forever.
Everything we do, everything we say, and even everything
we think can have dire consequences. In fact, I have never met anyone who could
assure me that all of his or her actions have always had positive consequences.
Except one.
The one who lovingly died on the cross to bring salvation
to this world.
He encouraged us with the following words: "Your eye
is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and
belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and
distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning,
so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your
best-lighted room." (Luke 11:34-36 The Message)
The problem is, none of us have ever been able to keep a
"well-lighted" life all of the time! Our actions speak much more
loudly than our words, and past memories are often contemplated with regret:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom 3:23
NIV) Some of us anticipate with terror the end of our earthly life:
"Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences." (Heb 9:27 The
Message)
The Good News is that the consequences don't have to be dire.
The One who lived an exemplary life has provided salvation for you. All you
have to do is accept His offer: "Christ's death was also a one-time event,
but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next
appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely,
salvation." (Heb 9:28 The Message)
"Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as
sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living
the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity
he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the
mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it
by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to
clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided
on this course of action in full view of the public - to set the world in the
clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the
sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now - this
is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to
live in his rightness." (Rom 3:23-26 The Message)
Dear Lord, we thank You that even though we have sinned
YOU have made a way for us to be forgiven. We pray today that we would have a
positive influence on those around us. I Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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