So to continue the conversation I was having with myself in my last two posts. . .
- Do what it takes to prevent people from unnecessarily dying in motor vehicle crashes. https://annaleahmary.com/2016/01/do-what-it-takes-to-prevent-people-from-unnecessarily-dying-in-motor-vehicle-crashes/ January 9
- Where is God when there are horrific tragedies? With us. https://annaleahmary.com/2016/01/where-is-god-when-there-are-horrific-tragedies-with-us/ January 9
(Wow! It is really windy out there right now; I can hear the wind moving things around. . . Oh, great! It is so windy that it pulled up our deck umbrella which we apparently had not securely fastened into the stand. And now it is broken. At least, with a little money, it can be replaced. Unlike broken, lifeless bodies.)
As I was saying, after writing those two posts yesterday, this morning as we drove an hour to church, I (not being the driver of the day) did my morning Bible reading (randomly selected by what I opened to and following cross-references from the verses which have caught my attention). And this is what I was reflecting upon:
In summary, it says in Matthew 4, (and in Luke 4)
5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he stood Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You; and on their hands they will bear You up, lest you strike Your foot against a stone.'” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not tempt [put to the test] the LORD your GOD.'”
So that is my question: Is it testing God
to execute laws and to promulgate safety regulations which make travelers on the road (whether in vehicles or pedestrians or cyclists) more vulnerable and susceptible to Death by Motor Vehicle?
(Or to refrain from taking action which would aid in preventing deaths.)
In other words, are we saying, “There are things which could protect people but we aren’t going to require them or enforce them; people know they are taking a risk when they go on the road and society cannot pay to protect them”?
Then, less than an hour later, I attended a Bible study for the first time whose focus has been the book of Matthew. The chapter being studied today was (guess what!) Matthew 4. And this was basically the first thing being discussed:
And so the conversation inside my head goes. . .
