While I was serving as a Chaplain for the SouthEast Volunteer Fire Department in Houston we were called to a house fire. Now, we didn’t get many of those calls in our section of town, mostly we had ambulance calls, lift assist requests and car accidents. So when the call dropped that a house was fully engulfed in flames, you can imagine the response. Our engines rolled out and I found myself throwing on my uniform and rushing out the door to my waiting truck. When I pulled onto the street I could see the flames shooting up into the sky and exploding out of broken window panes. It was clear that this was no small brush fire.
I had planned to pull my truck onto the street leading to the fire but my way was blocked by numerous persons and vehicles who had planted themselves in the road to just watch the fire. It was so congested that I had to park the street over and literally run to the Captain on scene to report for duty. My job was to console the family and give aid and support to the fire teams. Luckily everyone made it out of the house without injury, so my main focus became giving water and cool towels to the firefighters. I noticed, however, that the fire was not the only problem we were having. Crowds of onlookers were gathering closer and closer to the flaming building, taking pictures, pointing, and talking in small groups. Some were even taking selfies or group pictures with the flames as a backdrop. It was so distressing to watch such insensitivity to the tragedy unfolding around them. They also made it difficult for the fire crews to do their jobs safely. So it was no surprise that the fire chief began to bellow at people to get back, get out of the way, and let them do their work. Police officers arrived and kept the crowd at bay and away from the fire.
We as human beings have a bad habit of just getting in the way sometimes. Maybe it’s rubbernecking on the highway when passing a wreck, or following a firetruck to see if it goes to a fire. Why are we so drawn to watch tragedy unfold, does it make us feel involved somehow, is it a way to show sympathy, or is it simply because we are bored? Either way, what ends up happening is that we get in the way, we become a distraction, or even worse we hinder the ability for others to render aid.
John 15:13 states, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Instead of being a gawking nuisance, merely spectating tragedy; get involved in ways to care and support the victims within our community. Don’t watch the house burn, volunteer at the fire department, join the red cross, be a part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem.
Jesus does not call us to just spectate and gawk at tragedy, he calls us to act in His name, in the name of love and grace. He calls us to be a solution, a helping hand, a force of divinely inspired peace.
Let’s quit standing on the sidelines my friends, watching the world burn; it’s time to grab a hose.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – United State Coast Guard, Station Galveston TX
Chaplain – Texas Game Warden Service, Freestone County
Cell: 919-935-2513
Email: pastormike@fumcfairfield.org
