WHY PEOPLE DON'T EVACUATE

Why do people put their lives at risk?  Why do they not listen to warnings?  Why do they pay such a price when they are warned of the oncoming storm?    

                                                         Why?  

 

 

 

Why do they grieve the hearts of those who love them?   Why are people ignoring your warning about Jesus' return (the rapture)?  Why do they pass it off as something that will never happen?  Why do they think it will never happen to them? 

 

Dr. Keith Ablow wrote an article which appeared on today's Fox News web site.  I will list a few of the "whys"  and this will help to understand the "Why" as to other warnings given...and then ignored.

 

QUESTION:

Looking at the bigger picture, why do many people stay in vulnerable, storm-ravaged areas when they are told to evacuate? What is going on inside their minds? Feelings of invulnerability? Death wishes? Narcissism?

No. There is always a “why” to every seemingly inexplicable act. All human behavior can be understood when the life stories of the actors are known and the social context for their acts understood.

The reasons are many.  Rather than read one large paragraph of all the reasons, I will number the main points listed by Dr. Ablow.

1.  Personal: there is the intensely personal factor of one’s own history. People who take extraordinary risks can be, for example, people who have been traumatized in the past by events beyond their control (like the sudden loss of a loved one or by abuse they could not ward off) and who have not processed their feelings of extreme vulnerability. Using the psychological defense called “reaction formation,” they turn feelings of powerlessness into their opposites—irrational feelings of invulnerability. They can venture into peril, because they have denied all their fear, because it is simply too frightening to acknowledge.

Consider the fact that plucking people from rooftops often means rescuing people who needed to be rescued a long time ago—but from very different storms, and from other houses.

2. Cultural: We are living in technological times that deluge us with high-impact drama, while at the same time sterilizing the range of real human experience and, thereby, removing us from reality.

3. Interpersonal: Instant messaging passes for interpersonal contact, and fake Facebook profiles pass for real autobiographies. It is a time when special effects can make us respond emotionally to scenes and situations that don’t even exist.

4. Removed from ourselves: Being rescued from a rooftop may now be more of a gripping social media event, than a harrowing life event. 

We are living in times removed from ourselves, one another and reality. In these times, even big storms (whether, by the way of wind and rain, or of ominous economic data, or news that our sworn enemies are developing nuclear arms) may not pierce our ability to fend off the facts, nor motivate us to find higher ground and keep ourselves safe and strong.

Dr. Ablow's article helps me to understand why people don't heed the warning of  their need of salvation and the nearness of the return of Jesus Christ and .....why they don't grasp the dynamics of Islam intent in our nation.

Are people so removed from reality that truth doesn't sink in?  Big storms are coming.  And we are not ready.

Matthew 24:44
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

My Prayer:

"God, give us the ability to face reality.  Help us to see that we are not invincible...that we are in a need of a Savior.  Jesus, please reveal our issues which need to be resolved at the foot of the cross.  Cleanse our hearts...renew our minds.  We pray for a personal relationship with our creator.  Motivate us, Father, to seek 'Higher Ground'.

Lyrics to the old hymn, Higher Ground, says it best:

 My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground. 

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Chorus
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
..........
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