Oops! My bad. Sorry! Sometimes, a response like that doesn’t cut it. That’s certainly the case if you just dropped a bomb on a country. Accidental? Yes. However, damage is done that can’t be repaired. Such is the case in Spain on this day in 1966.
It was the era of the Cold War. American B-52 bombers loaded with hydrogen bombs and other nuclear armament circled the globe continuously. At a moments notice, the Cold War could get very hot, and the United States wanted to be ready for the first strike with nuclear weaponry. Our government admits that they knew accidents would occur with an operation of this magnitude. Seems to me, though, that this isn’t a simple oops! moment. Spain would probably agree.
“On January 17, 1966, when a B-52 bomber crashed into a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain. The bomber was returning to its North Carolina base following a routine airborne alert mission along the southern route of the Strategic Air Command when it attempted to refuel with a jet tanker. The B-52 collided with the fueling boom of the tanker, ripping the bomber open and igniting the fuel. The KC-135 exploded, killing all four of its crew members, but four members of the seven-man B-52 crew managed to parachute to safety. None of the bombs were armed, but explosive material in two of the bombs that fell to earth exploded upon impact, forming craters and scattering radioactive plutonium over the fields of Palomares. A third bomb landed in a dry riverbed and was recovered relatively intact. The fourth bomb fell into the sea at an unknown location.”1
These “mistakes” were code-named Broken Arrows. The government admits that over three dozen such accidents occurred involving radioactive materials. Radiation toxicity caused nearly 500 health claims to be adjudicated by our government. And here’s a piece of information that ought to cause us to shudder.
“Because the accident happened in a foreign country, it received far more publicity than
did the dozen or so similar crashes that occurred within U.S. borders. As a security measure, U.S. authorities do not announce nuclear weapons accidents, and some American citizens may have unknowingly been exposed to radiation that resulted from aircraft crashes and emergency bomb jettisons. Today, two hydrogen bombs and a uranium core lie in yet undetermined locations in the Wassaw Sound off Georgia, in the Puget Sound off Washington, and in swamplands near Goldsboro, North Carolina.”2
Matthew 18:7 says, “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” I know this verse isn’t talking about nuclear disasters but there certainly is application that can be made. In fact, the application can be made to ANY offense that we cause.
Consequences happen and, typically, they involve many innocent people. Think of the last time you lost your cool and went into nuclear meltdown. You yelled, accused, lost control, and might have even cursed. Perhaps, you say, “This is just a momentary thing, it’s not who I am, and I had every reason to be upset.” However, think of the damage one response caused.
There was nuclear fallout, the radiation of your anger affecting the person that experienced the initial blast, those in the room who overheard the tirade, and the damaged individuals warning others about you. People avoid you. If they must cross paths with you, they walk on egg shells the entire time, afraid that something is going to set you off. You’ve become the “accident waiting to happen.”
Then, there was you. You were at the point of impact along with the person on whom you went off. You are seething. Your spirit is damaged. And, when it’s all said and done, the Holy Spirit is convicting you. You know you were wrong but chances are good that you are too proud to admit it and seek God’s forgiveness and help. That means it’s only a matter of time before you have another nuclear “accident.”
Anger is only one example to which Matthew 18:7 could be applied. God wants us to take this seriously and deal with it drastically. As we go into today thinking about this devotional, meditate on the verses following our passage. They aren’t suggesting self-mutilation. Instead, they are telling us to deal seriously and severely with the offense.
“Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. (9) And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” (Matthew 18:8-9)
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/h-bomb-lost-in-spain
2Ibid.
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