The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease: A Post on New Orleans

First, excuse the old saying. But it is there because someone used it in reference to all the attention NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) was getting after Katrina in stark contrast with the affected cities in Mississippi. In other words, New Orleans has been getting help because it has been crying for it the loudest.

It irks me when people point this out, because they always sound exasperated, and act as if we should not worry about helping those in N.O. because they are not willing to help themselves. It doesn’t help that I’ve spent a total of about 3wks there doing relief work (who wants to be told that they shouldn’t have done what they did?).

True, there are political/economical/racial issues that brought NOLA to the forefront of the news. It is a major trading port after all.

But the people in that city are in need of help. About a third of the city lived in poverty, which means they probably didn’t have any money in the bank account before the storm. And when a storm takes away everything you own, where do you begin? It would be nice to rebuild your house on your own, but that is difficult when you have absolutely no money. There is also little time to rebuild, since one still needs a job to put food on the table for the family, and also to buy things to rebuild the house. It doesn’t help that it can take a full day of waiting in lines to get one building permit of the many that are required. Additionally, a few people still enjoy stealing in NOLA, so once you get all your building supplies together, they take everything during the night (one of our neighbors had his house broken into three times. The last time they stole all his interior doors and 1000+ pounds of granite. He’s now wiped out financially).

All the above and more aside, we should help those in need regardless of what they do. Is it right for us to set conditions on someone before we offer them charity (it is charity after all). If we call Christ our Lord, then we should also understand that he did not put conditions on us before granting salvation. He takes us as we are. As an outpouring of love, we should go and help rebuild.

The cool thing is that Christians are doing that. Many locals have mentioned that it is the Christians who have stayed for the long haul, who have put in sweat and blood to get NOLA back on its feet. His hands have reached out, and once the labor is done, hopefully His tongue will speak as well.