I have heard it said that in the Chinese language the words tragedy and opportunity are the same word "crisis". I did a little research and the found that there are mixed opinions on the validity of that statement, but overall there is evidence that there is a common intermingling of the two words in the Chinese language. Talk about divergent terminology! Probably the last thing that comes to your mind when I bring up a tragedy is the notion of an opportunity. Depending on where you are sitting on the faith and trust spectrum may very well determine your perception of looking at a tragedy as an opportunity, so hopefully I can shed a little light and a lot of perspective on this mind shift.
At first notice when we hear about a tragedy our thoughts shift towards sadness and grief. But why wouldn't they? When a tragedy hits someone or a group of someone's lives are being dramatically impacted by a negative experience. Loss of something important to someone normally equates to a tragic event in their life. The unexpected loss of a beloved family member or close family friend qualifies as a crisis that we experience, but loss of a home, or accidents that leave a person injured for life are also categorized as tragedies. Definitely not somewhere that the word opportunity usually pops up in a conversation. Yet, for the two words tragedy and opportunity to be a single word in the Chinese language there has to be an explanation worth learning more about.
In 1914 Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb among so many other marvels of the time, experienced one of the aforementioned crisis’s when his factory burnt to the ground. As the flames were raging and the building was disintegrating right there in front of Edison, he called out to his son and asked where the boy's mother was. It is recorded that upon learning that she was still at the family's home, Mr. Edison instructed his son to hurry and get her, because she may never have a chance to see a fire like that again. Hard to imagine anyone wanting to admire a fire in the face of a tragic event such as that. For some of us it may be even harder to believe that Edison wasn't standing there crying over the loss of all of the significant work that was being done to create items such as the light bulb. Here, it is reported that Edison told his employees that the fire just destroyed all their mistakes and now they would be able to start fresh with none of the former failures standing in the way. What allows someone like Thomas Edison to see opportunities instead of tragedies? My opinion would say it is all related to faith and trust in someone bigger than yourself.
We
will all face challenges, losses, and failures, so it isn't necessarily the
idea that some people are exempt from a crisis, but how we face those tragic
events in life is where opportunity has a chance to rise to the top of your
mindset and change your life which in turn changes the lives of so many others
you interact with each day. Joseph's ascension to power found in Genesis 50 was
draped in crisis after crisis, yet Joseph held firm to his understanding of the
idea that out of a tragedy an opportunity will soon present itself. Thrown in a
pit by his own brothers, sold into slavery by those same brothers, and
imprisoned for a false accusation of rape, Joseph had many reasons to give in
to the adversity in his life. But instead, after persevering through all of the
challenges that continuously knocked him down, Joseph assumed a position as the
number two man in Egypt serving directly under the Pharaoh. Joseph met with
those very same brothers that had sold him into slavery, and as they stood
there shaking in their sandals fearing execution for their crime, Joseph
provided this clarity to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but
God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives." Genesis 50:20. An even better example of maintaining a
mindset of opportunity coming from tragedy is the life and death of God's Holy
Son Jesus who pleaded with His Father to "let this cup pass Him, but if
not than Thy will be done." Luke 22:42. Jesus understood that even
though His life would be ended through the death on the crucifix, the impact of
His death would positively impact the lives of millions of people, even billions
of people around the world. "Thy will be done", opportunity
created by tragedy.
Where in your life do you need to build your faith to a place where faced with a crisis you need to see an opportunity for growth rather than the surface level of pain and sorrow? Trusting that your life has a purpose and that whatever has befallen you is not near as important as what God is planning on doing in you and through you as a byproduct of the supposed tragedy is where faith stands in the gap and ties tragedy and opportunity together. Got faith, faith to move a mountain? If not get some! God is the difference in the mix!
Coach Carter
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