When the January 12th terror shook our southern neighbors, Americans responded generously. The quake also shook loose some dandy questions:
Why are these poor people losing the bare minimum they have to sustain life? Isn't that cruel? Is it true they made a pact with the devil...and what does that mean, anyway? Does God punish people for blending voodoo into His gospel? Why would God allow such suffering and destruction?
Huge questions. They have bounced around in my mind a LOT lately. Some folks have fired off answers that perhaps they wish they hadn't fired off. Others simply got snarky about "devil speculation" (as if there weren't such a thing). But people who are serious and curious DO wonder. I have questions still after googling and wikipedia-ing and thinking and reading and praying. But what about some of these thoughts...
Haitians are desperately poor and now they have lost what little they may have had. How fair is that? True. But Haitians have Someone they can never lose...
Our son Brad spent one summer at a mission in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Mike was also there for a week. When they returned, they talked a lot about the light in the faces of the people who were happy although they had so very little. Mike and Brad were both struck by that truth. When Haitians bow their head to thank the Lord for their food, they MEAN it. When the Lord provides a physical need, they know who their Provider is. So...who is really poor?
"Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God." James 2.5 TM
Last summer when Mike and I left Little Rock, our movers loaded everything into a couple of yellow trucks for the two day move. Late that afternoon, we passed the trucks backed up to a Red Roof Inn on the outskirts of Fayetteville. It was weird to pass all your worldly goods beside the road. I wondered out loud "what if someone breaks into the truck and takes our stuff?" At that point Mike thought that was a pretty liberating idea. He had lugged stuff around about as many times as he cared. The Cruses have been given much, and we will be held accountable for the much we have been given. I'm not wanting to toss it, but still...I can see how "stuff" can be both captivating and insulating.
What about the question about how cruel it was for Haitians to undergo the crisis?
They called out to Jesus. They prayed. They looked up and rethought their connection to God. Perhaps now they may even have a chance for good neighbors to do some restructuring of their government and infrastructure, and lend more of a helping hand to their economy. Perhaps oversight by foreign governments will provide the accountability they have needed for stability. Those are all good things, not cruel things, that could come from "bad".
Cruelty is when dictators siphon off money from people who live on less than $1 a day. "You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you are kind to the poor, you honor God." Proverbs 14.21
Cruelty is a 30-year corrupt father/son Duvalier rule in Haiti, with their dreaded tonton machete gangs who terrorized the powerless with killings and beatings. Cruelty is when "Baby Doc" Duvalier took over from his father, married, and spent 3 million dollars on his wedding. How nauseating is that? Then a former priest who espoused liberation theology became the next corrupt dictator. Remember Aristide? It was 1990 and was called Haiti's first "free election". But I also remember how Aristide threatened his opponents with "the necklace" (flaming tires around the neck to burn them alive). Cruel? Yes. Was it freedom? My hind leg.
For years the people of Haiti have been victims of leaders who have not kept their oath to provide for the public's good. Can you believe that in the 1700's Haiti was the richest country in the Western hemisphere? Inconceivable. Today you could easily guess it is the poorest country.
What about this devil pact the Haitians could have made? How do you make a pact with the devil?
Simplistically, either you give God the right-of-way for your liferoad ahead, or YOU are at the wheel because you hold the deed to your life. Let's suppose for a minute that the Haitians did yearn for freedom from the French and asked the "alternate power source" for help. What time would that have been? They supposedly signed the pact in 1791. Haiti has had SEVEN major earthquakes before the one we witnessed in January. Six of the seven earthquakes happened BEFORE that 1791 pact. How COULD the pact have caused the earthquake? (Thanks to Dr. Jim Denison @ informedfaith.com for that insight.)
And what about blending Christianity and voodoo? In our country, that would be such a no-brainer/no-no. But in Haiti, they seem to reach out to God with some of their old African ways. If the devil is the source of the power grab, then it offends God and He will take care of it. But if they are reaching out to God to the best of their ability, I'm for letting God sort it out. God sees the hearts of men accurately; He's the only One able to judge righteously.
Can I be totally sure God is not spanking the people for the voodoo? No. He may be taking them to the woodshed if they are on a self-destructive path. That's because God is good and this life is not all there is. He wants as many to come to Him as will make that choice during this dress rehearsal of life. He doesn't want hell for anyone. The Haitians who knew Christ and died in the quake were delivered to a better address. Zap. Think they would want to come back? I don't think so. But what about the ones who did not belong to Him? That's where our trust comes in.
We believe (because we trust God's goodness) that each heart had sovereignly received their last offer to trust Him. And even if those godless souls were given another 100 or 1,ooo years, they still would not bend the knee. Forrest Gump might say "stubborn is as stubborn does".
Now for the big boy of hard questions...why would a good God allow suffering?
Did God blink that day when the tectonic plates shifted? Nope. He knew what would happen. The answer to the "why" question about Him allowing suffering is..."who knows?". We cannot presume to know God's mind, but we CAN presume to know His character. Reading the Book helps us know how His character has been expressed in the past. He never changes, so even in the most dreadful of circumstances (like the Haitians faced), or in circumstances that we might face, we can know that the Lord has it on His radar, has the ability to bring good from it, and is still in total control. He spoke heaven and earth into being. How hard would it be to steady tectonic plates?
Matthew explains God's sovereignty over our affairs. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." Matthew 10.29 NIV
El Elyon (The Most High God) sees and He knows and He is in control. We can believe Him just as Abraham did. "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own." Romans 4.3 TM
Or, the same verse in a version we are more familiar with..."Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous." Romans 4.3 NLT
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