We Just Need to Look

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things                                                                                                                                                                   Philippians 4:8

What is the deadliest animal in the world in terms of human deaths caused? Is it sharks? Maybe snakes? How about scorpions or spiders? Well, you can add up all the deaths caused by all of the above animals, multiply it by a thousand or so, and you are still not close to the biggest killer.

Mosquitos.

Yes, mosquitos are responsible for about 2.7 million human deaths each year, and about 500 million mosquito borne illnesses. Yeah, they are deadly, not to mention completely annoying. But mostly those of us in the Northern Hemisphere just find them annoying. People in the Southern Hemisphere, especially children, find them to be deadly.

I was watching a documentary on NOVA (PBS) the other evening about the search for a malaria vaccine. The scientists, doctors, researchers, and human aid groups have been diligently searching for a malaria vaccine for decades, and in October, 2023, one was approved by the World Health Organization. I was captured by the reactions of the scientists.

They wept.

I write this because I saw the reactions of these heroic workers when the vaccine trials showed effectiveness. Spent of emotional energy from years of frustration, they wept and celebrated as they anticipated the millions of children, especially children in Africa, that would be spared the devastation of malaria.   

Mostly these days, we are inundated by the news of inhumane actions of evil in Ukraine, Gaza, and many other places. I can get pretty downcast by the cruel actions of humans toward other humans. But in this Christmas season, I was looking for uplifting stories. Stories of people who love their fellow man and work for the best interests of humankind.

They are all around us to be sure if we are looking. We just need to remind ourselves to look.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the loving kindness we see in others when we look, Amen