Punished Haiti?

Dear Victorious,

We've heard Pat Robertson and others say that the devastating earthquake in Haiti is God's punishment for their sins. Is this true?

Kyung C. - Vancouver, BC

Dear Kyung,

I don't think any of us can really know if natural disasters are God's punishment for sin. There are some important truths though that are worth remembering in situations like this.

First, it is the nature and character of God to punish sin with what humans consider devastating circumstances. Throughout the Old Testament God specifically punished sin by unleashing his wrath through wars and natural disasters. In every case, God's intent was to eradicate the evil from a people group and to save a righteous "remnant" that He would then prosper. So it is possible that God punishes sin today.

Second, bad things do happen to innocent people. We live in a fallen world, beset by calamities. the Bible says that all of nature groans until Christ returns. That simply means that things aren't right in the world. Weather patterns and other matters are included. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world. But after their sin, the world was no longer perfect. So things happen, and they don't need a particular reason to happen.

Third, when people sin, there are always consequences. It doesn't matter what the sin is or who the people are. These are natural consequences. They aren't God's specific punishment. In fact, if there were no God at all, these natural consequences for these poor choices would still be there.

Finally, it has become popular to blame calamity and travesty on someone. Religious leaders have blamed AIDS on homosexuals. They blamed the tsunami on Islam. Now they're blaming the earthquake on voodooism. While these are certainly things that could inspire the wrath of God (based on what we know of His nature and character), it is not helpful to try and assign blame. It would be much more helpful to respond in love, leading the sinners to repentance - turning them from the sinful ways towards righteousness in Jesus Christ.

My suggestion is that we pray for the Haitians. Let's pray for the aid workers. And let's ask God to use this calamity to draw the Haitian people to Himself, giving them a fresh sense of who God is.