Over the past week there has been a lot of discussion going on about the earth quake in Haiti. Everyone is heart broken for the country because of the tragedy that has happened. But one question that has crossed many peoples minds is whether or not God is punishing Haiti. An acquaintance of mine, Ted Grant, wrote an article addressing this question and I personally don’t think it could have been answered better. Here is the article he wrote:
John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Luke 10:36-37, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
It seems like every time a catastrophe strikes somewhere in the world, the question comes up, “Is God punishing _______?” It happened with the recent comments by Pat Robertson. It happened after hurricane Katrina, and it happened after the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia.
This is not a new idea, and people often quote events from the Old Testament like the Flood, the plagues in Egypt, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as evidence for God’s judgment on mankind. These Biblical events that usually come after a city or nation refuse to repent and turn to God, lead us to wonder if we are experiencing such acts of judgment today.
When Katrina flooded the city of New Orleans, some people pointed to the immoral and decadent festivities surrounding Mardi Gras as cause for God’s anger and punishment. When the tsunami hit Indonesia, people cited the severe persecution of Christians and the corrupt government as the cause for God’s wrath. Now that Haiti has been decimated by the largest earthquake in decades, some people are pointing to the prevalence of voodoo and witchcraft as the reason God is punishing the people of Haiti.
Even if we accept that a large majority of people in Haiti practice voodoo, is that justification for God “punishing” them with this earthquake? In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18, Abraham asked God in verse 23, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” After some discussion and haggling, God was willing to show compassion to a city as overwhelmingly wicked as Sodom, if there were just 10 righteous people found there. Is Haiti as wicked as these cities, can’t we find even 10 righteous people in all of Haiti?
And, do you remember the story of Jonah? He wanted judgment on the wicked city of Ninevah and ran away from God instead of taking the message of repentance to a city that he wanted destroyed. Jonah was ticked off that God might actually have mercy on his enemies. He says this about God in Jonah 4:2, “He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
Jonah knew that God is righteous, but also loving and merciful. To think that God is punishing Haiti or New Orleans, or Indonesia, or any other people group is, I believe – inaccurate. If it were the case, then the events of 9/11 would also have to be God’s judgment upon the USA. And when a tornado wiped out a church in Oklahoma in May 2009, they too, were being judged.
To point at any one natural disaster and not at the hearts of all mankind is a mistake.
The Bible teaches us that to love God is our primary goal and we cannot love God without also loving our neighbor. God’s love for us compels us to take responsibility for those in need. Jesus placed a high priority on those in need when He declared in Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”It is in times of crisis that the church can have its greatest impact. The question is, what kind of an impact will the church have?
Chris
