I am in the middle of reading a fascinating book that talks about various peoples in Africa and how they survive. Comparing our lives in the West with theirs may seem like a foolish pursuit but there is a bit of deep understanding that can come out of this exercise.

One thing that we have done in the West very well is to isolate ourselves from nature. Our life style has incorporated technology that we say we couldn’t survive without.

We air-condition our houses and buildings so that the weather has very little effect on us. We drive cars that can get us from here to there regardless of the road conditions or how far point “A” is from point “B”. We wear high-tech clothes to keep us warm or cool and we shop in super markets where the food is so far from nature that it’s sometimes hard to tell if it is real or not.

All in all, in the West, we live is a well controlled “box” that represents what we see nature should be.

Compare this to those who live close to nature — possibly because they have no other choice. To them, what God chooses to give them through nature has enormous effect on their quality of life. If it rains, they care because rain brings food. If it is hot, they care because their crops and their health is effected.

It’s no wonder that we, in the west, have trouble understanding God’s creation. We have chosen to live as isolated as we possibly can from it.

I think that we are truly missing a gift of God.