Somali Pirates and Sushi (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

During my recent visit to Japan, I dined at a well-known sushi restaurant. As I enjoyed the excellent meal, I was intrigued to learn about its flamboyant owner and founder and his relationship with Somali pirates.

A very successful businessman, this sushi owner was alarmed over the attacks by Somali pirates on passenger ships, including commercial fishing boats. Some of the waters where the pirates preyed overlapped with some of the prime fishing areas for his tuna fishing business. He decided to take matters into his own hands and through successive contacts, set up a series of meetings with several leaders of the Somali pirates. What he discovered surprised and motivated him to action. All of the pirates stated they turned to piracy because they had no other choices to make a living.  The Somali civil war had destroyed their homes. When he heard this, he pitched the idea to train them as commercial fisherman and work for him, fishing in the same waters that they had previously terrorized. The idea worked and this sushi owner’s efforts led to a dramatic reduction in the Somali pirating activities. The government of Djibouti even awarded him a medal for his efforts!

This inspiring story reminded me of our inherent need to find one’s self-worth and to be accepted by others and society. These pirates sought stability in their broken lives and were willing to go to extreme measures to achieve this. They felt there was no other option until this sushi owner showed them a better way.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that He cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV)

God understands our deepest needs and aspirations. He created us with a God-shaped hole within our very soul. Only He can fill it and only He can satisfy our cravings. Instead, we think we can fill this hole with pleasures and material possessions from the world. All this does is increase our frustrations, sometimes leading to desperate measures and solutions. Only by confessing and repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior do we find our true self-worth and acceptance.

Amen!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.