The Power of Prevention

It seems that we spend too much of our lives putting out fires – too much tie running to meet emergencies – too much time attempting to fix things that shouldn’t have happened – and that we ought to pay more attention to the power of prevention.

We cannot expect perfection in people, and in using our freedom, we all make mistakes. But it would seem that we would learn more from the experience of others, more form the laws of cause and consequence, and more of the power of prevention.

It may be that we use this power more than we sometimes suppose, because prevention doesn’t always receive the same notice as meeting an emergency does. We seldom hear about the ship that doesn’t sink, of the aircraft that doesn’t crash, or the safe journey home on the highway, or the boy who doesn’t go astray, or the epidemic that doesn’t develop.

And certainly we don’t hear about the fire that doesn’t get started – nor about the law that isn’t broken – and the person who quietly and consistently lives his life, keeping peace with his neighbors, being faithful to his family, being respectful of law, isn’t so likely to have his name in the news. In this sense it is a blessing to keep our names out of the news, and to live, if not anonymously, at least not negatively.

It is good to make amends for mistakes, to relieve suffering after the accident, to help people back to health, to make repairs after damage is done. And much credit, much praise and a great debt is due those who meet emergencies, those who courageously and constructively rush from wreck to wreck, from fire to fire, those who help to undo damage already done.

But along with the power to repair, and along with the power to repent, let’s not lose sight also of the power to prevent, which, while less dramatic, is less costly in money and in men, and is better for health and happiness.

Personally and as a people, we should watch the warning signs, watch the symptoms, and not wait for the breaking point, not wait until something has gone so far that it must be met with drastic measures. We should learn to live not from crisis to crisis, but by thoughtful, prayerful foresight, with the power of prevention.