New Orleans, Louisiana, survives because of a system of levees, earthen embankments and concrete-encased metal plates built to hold back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. That "old man river" rolls its strongest as it passes the city at the end of its long journey through the heartland of America. The flooding that engulfed the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was caused in large part by three failures of the levees holding back the lake. Tragically, the city saw the collapse of another kind of "levee," the moral levee of civilization, as looting and violence broke out when thugs and unscrupulous people scrambled to take what they could from the wreckage. This has been the nation's biggest tragedy since 9/11, and there are inevitable comparisons. The New Orleans disaster is citywide, whereas the devastation in New York was limited to the vicinity of the World Trade Center. People from other parts of the city could get to the site and offer aid. In New Orleans, the majority of the city was evacuated and suffered massive damage. Vital municipal services were cut off citywide. The city's poorest and most helpless were left to survive as best they could. Unfortunately, the worst elements came out to prey on the tragedy. In a matter of hours New Orleans was reduced to a third world status. Toilets would not flush, sewage was everywhere and dead bodies floated by, untended because rescue workers had to prioritize their efforts to focus on the living. The city had the smell of death. It was a classic wartime triage situation. Americans are not used to seeing such sights at home, but only on television in far-off places. It has been more than 13 years since we have seen such scenes of rioting in an American city. We forget and have grown complacent—twin enemies of the thin veneer that covers any civilization. In recent years American audiences have been watching survival-type reality shows on television. These contrived episodes seem hollow compared to the real-life survival drama on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Are we seeing how real people would react to the real breakdown of ordered society in the event of a countrywide catastrophe? Perhaps it is time to read the words of the prophet Zephaniah. He foretold the breakdown of city life during a time of severe testing. "And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.' Therefore their goods shall become booty, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine" (Zephaniah 1:12-13). The prophet goes to the heart of the problem with this insight: "I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD" (verse 17). Like it or not, at some point every nation will have to face the reality of sin against the law of God. In His mercy God always gives ample warning and a call to change before the time of judgment. "Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the LORD's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD's anger" (Zephaniah 2:1-3). The city with its buildings can be rebuilt. In this case, it will take years to return to normal. The levees can be restored and made stronger, but without careful maintenance they could fail once again. It's the same for character and self-restraint. The type of character that can withstand depravation and upheaval must be built and maintained one brick at a time over years of careful living. Right choices have to be made each day and at every fork in the road of life. The way of godly righteous character comes from choosing the road "less traveled by," as the poet Robert Frost put it. Only then will we have a community built upon foundations that insure complete and lasting restoration. WNP