Atlantic City

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Living in the Shadow of Riches

I find the contrast between wealth and poverty difficult to get my head around, especially when they’re found together.

I remember visiting a village in Laos, South East Asia in 1992 that took two hours to get to by boat. When you say, “middle of nowhere” it refers to that little dot on the map. The place had no running water, requiring the women to climb up a hillside to get it from a stream.

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The chief’s home was on stilts and the home’s only furniture was a chest and a few mats. There was a big old pot-bellied pig that lived below the thatch roofed hut.

What I found amazing was, at the time I was there, the chief was in Los Angeles, California visiting his son who was attending university. The thought of a man from that tiny primitive village being in the abundance of LA blew my mind. The contrast seemed to be too extreme.

Being in Atlantic City this week, I saw similar contrasts. But you could miss them all together if you stayed in one of the casinos along the boardwalk. When you stay in a casino resort, you never have to leave the confines of wealth, luxury and beauty.

For that matter, though you are at one of the best beaches in America, you never have to see the light of day – but you certainly can get carpal tunnel from pushing the buttons on the slot machines!

We stayed in a hotel about a 10 minute walk to the strip. On our walks to the world famous Atlantic City boardwalk, we saw some huge contrasts to what we found in the casinos. From the vantage point of our 10th floor balcony, we saw homes that could – and probably should – be torn down, in spitting distance from a casino that cost $2.4 billion to build.

It boggles my mind to see prosperity and dearth coexisting beside each other. How does one live in the shadow of lavishness and how does one ignore impoverishment? There are no simple answers to those questions.

It wouldn’t work to take money from the wealthy; they would still find a way to generate more. Giving money to the poor wouldn’t necessarily mean they would use it to change their situation for any length of time.

This is not something that only exists in Atlantic City. In any city we could name, on any continent on the globe, this same disparity can be found dwelling side by side.

No matter how huge the gulf is, there is something that is consistent: we settle in and get used to living side by side. Though we should seek to do something to change the disparity, instead we shrug and accept it as the way it is.

Here’s the thing: In this life we all live together side by side, those who are bound for heaven and those bound for hell. In heaven one day there will be no co-existing. Those who have placed their faith in Christ, regardless of their wealth or lack of it, will be in heaven, while those who have not will be in hell. Those bound for heaven shouldn’t accept the disparity now, but seek to bring others into faith in Christ.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What contrasts do you see in life that you have a hard time reconciling?  Leave your comment below.

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You Can’t Beat The Real Thing

Though television and the internet have provided us with live images from around the world that we would never see otherwise, what they can’t do is give us a live experience.

Certainly television news tries to give us live experiences of wars and disasters. The commentary of the reporter is always dramatic. They somehow think that showing the same footage over and over and making the same comments seeps into our psyche so it becomes like an experience to us. … but it doesn’t really work.

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My wife, Lily and I took a trip to Atlantic City, for a week’s get away and to relax. No, not to gamble, though there are a plethora of opportunities to do that.

We aren’t even staying in one of the casino hotels. In fact, we are staying at the very end of the famous Atlantic City boardwalk. To be accurate, the boardwalk used to go past our hotel.

About six months ago, a hurricane came through and wiped out the part of the boardwalk that runs in front of our hotel. I’m surprised it didn’t destroy part of the hotel we are staying in as well.

I remember seeing the news reels on TV when the disaster took place, thinking that it was too bad. I even felt sorry for the people who lost homes and for the damage it caused them and the city.

But until yesterday, when my wife and I walked along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, and saw the remains of the portion of boardwalk that was lost during Hurricane Sandy, I had not experienced it.

It’s not that we experienced the storm, but our experience of being right at the site of the damage is something television and the internet can’t give us. For example, there’s something better about going to a live sporting event than watching it on TV – even though on TV you get replays and commentary and all kinds of extras.

It’s the same with going to a concert or performance of some kind. There is something better about being there live. If you are there, it is an experience. If you’re watching on television, you are only tuning in to it.

There have been major events that were so pivotal that we remember where we were when they happened: when President Kennedy was shot, when Canada beat the Russians in the 1972 hockey summit, or when the twin towers were struck.

The experience was not the actual event in those cases. The experience was with the place, the people and the emotion of where we were at the time.

For instance, I remember being in the library of my high school, with wall-to-wall people watching the game on three little TVs. I remember the place erupting when Henderson scored his goal. I remember everybody hugging and cheering and shouting (yes, shouting in a library) when the buzzer went. I watched the game live but my experience was in my school.

The point is, our experiences are with live events we are present for, not something we see on TV or the internet.

Here’s the thing: We can see something about God, read something about Him, even be with people who have experienced God. But until we personally engage with Him, meet with Him, or have some dealings with Him, we can’t say we have had an experience with God. We have just been looking on

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What event can you remember in detail as to where you were and who you were with?  Leave your comment below.