January 31, 2010
Translated by Lydia Ma

The recent earthquake in Haiti left its capital in tatters and the number of injured people and dead bodies were astronomical. As Haiti awaited aid from other countries, we were flabbergasted to hear one U.S. pastor comment that Haitians deserved this tragedy because they had made a pact with the devil in the early days of the republic.

People often use phrases such as "god-forsaken" or "he had it coming" to describe places or people they dislike or find contemptible. Such phrases not only mask apathy, they could be construed as a curse on someone else. Oftentimes, they merely reveal one's own false sense of superiority and self-righteousness.

Regardless of whether there was a spiritual battle raging in Haiti, or what kind of spiritual implications this earthquake had, no one should have cast the first stone or said "they had it coming." Such words not only add salt to the wounds of earthquake survivors, but also hurt the body of Christ. They are simply inappropriate. In the wake of such a crisis, we should be asking ourselves what God wants all of us to learn and do.

In Jesus' day, Jews had a similar perspective as the aforementioned pastor. Whenever something bad happened, they thought it represented God's wrath against someone or something. They believed that if a child was born with a birth defect, the child's parents must have sinned or incurred God's wrath. However, Jesus clarified in John 9:1-7 that the issue wasn't who had sinned, but rather, if people failed to introspect first and repent of their own sins, everyone would ultimately face God's wrath as well.

Pontius Pilate once massacred some Galileans who were sacrificing at the temple. When the news broke out, many people began debating whether these Galileans had committed some great sin to deserve such a bloody death. Jesus was very clear when he corrected this perspective, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:2-5).

In this passage, Jesus taught that not all tragedies should be taken as punishments because God desires that people take an honest look at the way they are living their lives and repent. God also desires that people would look at events from an eternal perspective and use events such as the earthquake in Haiti to think about their own eternal destinies.

We must treat everyone with due respect and dignity, that's the bottom line. Even if Haitians had made a pact with the devil sometime in their history, it is not our place to curse or condemn them. Instead, we must learn from their mistakes and lead them on the road back to God. After all, they, too, were created in the image of God and need Christ's salvation.

If we fail to extend mercy to those who are suffering and begin acting holier-than-thou, we are usurping God's authority to mete out judgment and punishment. In our pride and self- righteousness, we also fail to obey God's command to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15).

As Christians, our first priority in the event of a tragedy is to extend mercy and see if there is anything we can learn from it. We must also help and pray for victims. Let us not cast the first stone nor act as unaffected bystanders.

Taiwan Church News