Titanic-The Ship Of Dreams
She sank 90 years ago, but her lessons are still applicable today.
Titanic:
The Lessons Of A Lifetime
The MAIDEN VOYAGE
Although the tragedy happened in 1912, most people, no matter what age, have heard about the sinking of the Titanic. Few people, however, really know what happened or why. Even fewer of us realize the spiritual lessons we can learn from history's most famous maritime event.
Why is this particular disaster so vividly remembered and the subject of countless books, websites, internet newsgroups, TV documentaries and movies. Morbid curiosity is certainly one answer and maybe even a general fascination with the events surrounding the Titanic's demise is another. More then that, the ship's sinking represents an incredible study in human character.
Can you imagine what those 1,500 souls on the Titanic's massive main deck were thinking after all the lifeboats had been launched? Many fell to their knees in humility, faith and prayer as they knew they were about to meet their Maker, while others cursed God out of anger and bitterness. All experienced heartache, sorrow and regret as they realized-too late in most cases-what and who were they really important.
This was never supposed to happen to the passengers of the R.M.S. Titanic. Large, even by today's standards, this gigantic 'floating city' represented all the power, wealth, luxury, and arrogance of its age. She proudly carried more then 2,300 passengers and crew on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, her human cargo represented many nations and virtually every social and economic class.
While the wealthiest men in the world, including John Jacob Astor, gambled the hours away in the opulent first class lounges, the second class passengers, who were mostly teachers and the occasional vacationers, were enjoying the luxuries that most other ships had for their first class passengers. And the third class steerage passengers were penned up in the bottom of the ship. Eventually, however, money would mean nothing.
The Titanic was built at the height of the Industrial Age, a time when technology ruled as a 'god' and man could conquer nature by his brilliance and ingenuity. Several passengers wrote in their diaries that they overheard people claim "even God couldn't sink this ship!" Even if some unlikely accident did happen, her 16 watertight compartments would keep her afloat, at least until rescue. Twenty lifeboats should suffice.
After all, the odds were incredibly high in her favor. This was the White Star Steamer, Titanic, grandest of the grand. Nothing could possibly happen to the 'unsinkable' ship!
Imagine the scene. The Titanic was four days at sea. It was April 14, a Sunday. She was speeding along, entirely too fast for a ship of her tonnage, as she approached the North Atlantic ice fields, but the ship's owners wanted to set an Atlantic crossing speed record set by her sister ship the Olympic. No safety drills had taken place that Sunday morning as was scheduled.
The Wireless operators, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, busy arranging ticker-tape parades and parties that would celebrate Titanic's arrival in New York, ignored or made light of repeated warnings of icebergs in the ship's path. Even Captain Edward J. Smith, with more then 40 years experience seemed complacent. After all, he too thought the ship was unsinkable.
On that moonless night, at approximately 11:20 p.m., the ship's crew spotted an iceberg the size of a small mountain dead ahead. Frantic orders were given to steer the massive liner to port (left) to avoid a collision. They succeeded.
Contrary to popular belief, the Titanic did not collide head-on with the iceberg. Not hitting the iceberg head-on, unfortunately was the worst thing that could possibly happen. Three quarters of the iceberg was underwater, and the ship brushed the iceberg's underside on the starboard (right) side of the bow. The ice scraped the hull, popping rivets and creating an opening that was a little over a quarter-inch wide and more then 300 feet long.
Nothing was detectable by anyone on board, but the damage was just enough to cause metal plates to buckle and five watertight compartments in the bow to begin filling with sea water. Almost mathematically, the 'unsinkable' ship had been mortally wounded.
Water quickly flooded the bow of the Titanic. Very few passengers, most of whom had retired for the night, had any clue what was happening. When they received word to begin boarding lifeboats, many joked about the bulky white life jackets and giggled among themselves.
They were absolutely sure the Titanic's watertight compartments would keep her from sinking until rescue boats arrived. It wasn't until the lifeboats had been lowered, the rocket flares had been launched, and the huge ship began listing and tilting forward that the passengers realized they were in serious trouble.
Bravery & Cowardice
Eva Hart, who was on the ship with her mother and father was just 7 years old at the time of the voyage, she and her mother were put aboard a lifeboat while her father stayed behind. Tears well up in her eyes as she recalls the horror of watching the Titanic sink.
Mrs. Hart will always remember the screams echoing across the freezing black water as the huge ship rose up and went down. "It was absolutely dreadful."
Mrs. Hart relays that every person's true character surfaced while the Titanic was sinking. As those 20 lifeboats were being filled and lowered down to the freezing water, the command on deck was "women and children first." Most of the men and teenage boys helped women and children into the lifeboats, and then stood bravely and sang hymns with the ship's band as she went down.
But some men displayed another kind of character. They slyly made their way back to staterooms and donned women's clothing in order to get in a lifeboat and save their own skins.
It is an interesting fact that newspaper reports, magazine articles and books published shortly after the Titanic's sinking referred to eternal truths, faith in God and salvation through Jesus Christ over and over again. Most of these were secular publications! The following is and excerpt from a consolation letter written to the Titanic's survivors from Rev. Henry Van Dyke. The entire letter was published in a secular book in 1912.
"It takes a catastrophe like the wreck of the Titanic to reveal the ideal of 'women and children first.' It brings out the contradiction between that ideal and all the counsels of materialism and selfish expediency. The command of 'women and children first' is in essential harmony with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. But only through the belief that the strong are bound to protect and save the weak are we to be our brother's keeper because God will it so."
What Does This Mean Today?
All of us, at times, get caught up in investing cars, stocks, bonds, houses, boats - all the 'stuff'. In a way, we are all sometimes guilty of barreling along, full steam ahead, on our own little Titanic, when . . . BOOM - we encounter an overwhelming, obstacle. These are the pivotal points in our lives, times when we realize what really counts.
Onboard the Titanic that April night, all the money, status, influence, and 'stuff' in the world couldn't buy the wealthiest man off the ill-fated ship as she went down to her watery grave.
Hopefully, none of us will ever be in a position of knowing that in just a couple of hours, we will die a horrible death. But the reality is that someday, and someday all too soon, we will all be in God's presence. He will know what really mattered most in our hearts at that moment of truth. We should not have to be on a sinking Titanic to realize that.
Sept 1, 1975-Aug 29, 1999
Dedicated, in Loving Memory, to the one person who always inspired and encouraged me....
My Little Baby Brother, David Michael-Joshua Waters: May God Keep him in his beloved arms until we meet again.
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