Haiti in Light of the Problem of Pain 4 of 5

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." –Luke 13:1-5
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you." Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. –Job 1:18-22
Week four of our tiptoe though the cause of pain (especially but not exclusively in how it relates to horrendous disasters such as the recent one in Haiti) points us in a new direction: God’s direct involvement. For the next two weeks I want to discuss God’s Sovereignty in His Creation. Allow me to preface this by saying you will likely not like my post these two weeks (unlike the usual euphoria you feel from reading my column?). I deliver this news as a fallen sinner with only the Grace of Christ to offer as my endorsement. I am in a way the Bizarro-world Joel Osteen (an inverse character image of Superman or, in this case, Joel Osteen). If you are looking for feelgood, oddball humor you, my three regular readers, have come to expect (Hi Mom), you might want to read the archives on my blog instead…this may not have that feel. This being said, our topic is vital.
As a reminder, on the opposite ends of the religious spectrum, Pat Robertson said that Haiti was being judged and harmed directly by God for a “pact with the devil” of which prompted Rick Warren of Saddleback church to Tweet (it is a computer dealy-bob, Mom) the following: “Labeling any natural disaster as God's judgment is nonsense. True “judgment begins with God's family” 1Peter4:17, not others”. (1 Peter 4:17 says “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”). He then Tweeted his desire to mud wrestle a TV comedian on Pay Per View with the proceeds going to Haiti relief (a topic to be discussed in a future post called either “10 things that make me want to use brain floss” or “12 things a pastor who reveres God shouldn’t say even with a nice motive”. With two equally plausible if convoluted answers, I ask what Pilate asked… “What is truth?” amongst these conflicting thoughts.
Also as a reminder, the last three weeks I have made a clear statement that the Haiti earthquake wasn’t caused by random chance or an unknowing God. Today I confidently state that one of the final two choices, or a combo of the two, is the answer. God either caused the event or He let it happen. First we need to clarify that God CAN make earthquakes. This is supported by Isaiah 29:6, Matthew 28:2, Acts 16:26, 1 Kings 19, and others. As we look through the Bible, there are dozens and dozens of instances of God using natural events and a host of other bad circumstances to achieve His Will. Interestingly, sometimes He spares Christians/believers from pain (i.e. Ex. 9 & 10…read A.W. Pink’s The Sovereignty of God chapter Three for a beautiful treatment of this thought), and sometimes He does not (Luke 13 passage above, assuming that those being killed were Christians, the stoning of Timothy, and Job ). God DOES judge cities and nations (if you don’t believe me, send a letter to the Sodom or Gomorrah Chamber of Commerce for an information package). These things made apparent, God can judge a city/country, He does sometimes do it, and sometimes there are “good people” there. Given this chain of logic, what can we say with certainty? All evidence points to God having an involvement or at least knowledge of the events we deem bad. If God didn’t know it was happening, He is not omniscient and we should all hide under our beds. If it is out of His control, how can He promise us that all things will work for GOOD (Romans 8:28)? The bottom line is that He knew and either caused it or let it happen. What is not apparent, and is the question why them and not me?
Robertson and Warren are extremely presumptuous (asinine comes to mind) in their stating that God must have judged Haiti or that this Haitian judgment concept is nonsense. Allow me to clearly wrap up today’s post by saying God can rightfully Judge anyone He wants (Rev 4:11, Isa 29:16, 1Cor 6:20, others). Romans 1-6 clearly say that we all have sinned and deserving of punishment. He judged all the fallen angels immediately without sending them a Savior. What is intriguing and amazing is that we don’t ALL get judged the first time we sin against a Holy God as we deserve (Romans 6:23). Read carefully the first passage from Luke 13. Our response to pain and tragedy should not be blame or finger-pointing in any way. It should be, like Job, introspection. Ask God, “Is there unconfessed sin in my life?” or “What do I need to learn from this event?”. While we can’t totally understand why Haiti with its cardboard houses gets thumped and Las Vegas with its rampant sin (including, according to Fox News, legal male prostitution for the ladies) skates along like they are doing right, we can certainly look deep within ourselves and investigate our own sin life. Do we lie? Do we lust? Do we steal? Why are we getting by? By thoroughly understanding our position (sin) compared to God’s (Perfect Holiness), we can get a better perspective on future tragedies and position ourselves to do what we were called to do…repent (turn from sin) and call on God to save us according to His unmerited favor/ beautiful grace. This week your assignment is to thoroughly analyze yourself and then think of God’s Goodness in not giving us what we deserve. When we wrap up next week and tie up the loose ends, this issue, while challenging, will begin to make perfect sense. In the meantime, feel free to email me at markapplegate@windstream.net with questions or concerns. Until then may God Bless and keep you…