It's Not Why Time

A while back a friend and I were chatting about a theory she had heard. The idea was that everybody has a primary question (who, what, when, where, why, or how) that informs the way in which they interpret the world. Immediately I knew that my question is undoubtedly why. It started early for me. In my childhood it was so incessant that my grandfather invented something called “why time.” As in, “it’s not why time right now!” I’m sure this was in response to the inevitable merry-go-round of questioning that comes from an inquisitive four year old. Behind every reason there’s always another question as to why that reason is true.

As I have grown older I have learned to (begrudgingly) accept that sometimes there is no good answer to that pesky question. This truth has been painfully apparent this last week as I’ve watched the horrific aftermath of the earthquake unfold in Haiti. Of course, there are scientific explanations for earthquakes and sociopolitical reasons that help explain the magnitude of the devastation. These really aren’t satisfying, though, because they don’t truly get at the BIG whys. Why them and not me? Why did those babies have to die? Why do I get to sleep in a warm bed with plenty to eat, while the Haitians wander their former streets homeless and hungry?

The fact is there are no real answers to these questions. All possible explanations that we can grasp with the human mind fall severely short. More dangerously, these “answers” lead us into false attribution of blame or merit. We run the risk of falling into the trap of thinking that good things happen to those who do good and bad things happen to those who have done wrong. The truth is, though, “Time and chance happen to us all.” (Eccl. 9:11)

So, even as I struggle with the desire to know why, I’m trying to change my question to something more appropriate and productive. I’m asking, “what would I want someone to do if I was affected by this crisis?” and “how can I help alleviate the suffering of the Haitians?” There are concrete answers to these questions, and they are the only answers that matter to our suffering neighbors.

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