Haiti: Jehovah's Judgement Or Not

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

Every day, we experience many simple and complex blessings, yet we never sees it fit question the undeserving good things that happen to us. When we experience good fortune at the hands of Jehovah, we take God and his blessings for granted. However, when bad things happen, we demands an answer from Jehovah.

We ask why did the ninety year old, homeless man who was stricken with cancer die. Why did the healthy woman die after a mile complication? Why did the family of three died in a car crash as a result of a drunk driver? Every day, these questions are asked by people filled with grief and this is done to find some rational that may help them through the pain they feel. Yet, there is never a conclusive answer to be had, that will give the seekers, an understanding of why bad things happen.

There are some questions that we human, in our spiritual frailty, will never find answers to or for; and in such cases; “I don’t know,” is the only and most appropriate answer that is and will ever be available. There are certain times when our personal belief and our interpretation of the bible can bring us to a conclusion that will help us to deal with certain bad events.

We as believers in Jehovah and student of his words must try to view everything in the context of the bible. It is unwise and dishonest to twist the bible to justify a situation, even when, to do so we can alleviate someone’s pain and suffering and even in a time when the truth, can add to the mental stress of those who are already suffering. It is not one’s responsibility to provide answers to situation and question there are no answers for but when one is confronted with such a situation it is the responsibility of those who are trained, or who find themselves in the position to offer help to people in need, not to provide answers; but to help the suffering person through the situation the best way they can.

I have seen religious leaders, in their effort to bring comfort to victim of the Haiti tragedy and to dispel a school of thought that is being prorogated by some, which claims, the earth quake that struck Haiti was payment for the evil deeds done by Haitians. Such deeds constitutes the high incident of witchcraft, obeah or voodoo (spiritualism/the use of satanic power in human affairs to hurt others) that is practice in Haiti and the brutality that is inflicted on each other lead to devastating earthquake that recently hit this country. Although such behavior and practice exist in Haiti, It is and was very insensitive of such people to make such remark after the fact, especially if they did not go to that country, in an effort to effect some positive change in the life, attitude and behavior of the Haitian people. It is not for me or anyone to say that such was or was not the case and it is not the responsibility of anyone to use unrelated bible text to prove otherwise. Jehovah has the answer to this and other question we will all like answer to.

I sat in church and I listen in shock as a preacher, use the Job story to dispel the school of thought while ignoring certain common facts that made this story the most inappropriate scenario for the purpose.

Let us examine the story of Job, and compare it with the Haitian Situation to see if this is an appropriate scenario to use.

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  First point, Job was an individual, he had control over his behavior, whether he submit to Jehovah or not. Haiti is a nation with over a million people. No one can ever account or control the behavior and or belief of so vast a people.

• Job was righteous and upright and there were no evidence or record of Job doing evil; however, base on bible principles and common belief Job’s friends assumed he did. In Haiti’s case, there is overwhelming evidence of the brutality the Haitian people commit against each other; as well as, the high incident of Devil inspired deed or Voodoo that is practice in and is an acceptable part of Haiti's culture. In other words the evidence is clear that Job as an individual was perfect in all of his ways and the Haitian community in Haiti is not.

It is dishonest to use the God appointed suffering, of such a valiant servant of Jehovah, to justify the adversities of a group that do not fit into that same spiritual bracket of Jehovah righteous servant Job. There are many righteous people in Haiti, however there are many wicked people that is apart of that community also. It is unwise to use Job Story to cover up or deny known common practice of the people.

There are stories in the bible where Jehovah execute punishment on nations who has turn away from serving him and have indulged in wicked practices. We have seen in Geneses chapter 19: Jehovah execute judgment on Sodom and  Gomorrah for the abominable life style of the people. Sodom and its inhabitants were destroyed by fire; however, Lot, his daughters and his wife was saved from the horrible death the other inhabitants suffered. We also see in Genesis chapter 6 and 7: Jehovah destroyed the antediluvian world with a flood, only Noah and his family survived. Gen. 6: 5 provide information why the antediluvian world was destroyed: “Jehovah saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of his thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the lord that he had make man upon the earth and it grieved him at his heart.”

In the book of Jonah, Jehovah send the prophet Jonah to Nineveh to cry against that city, for their wickedness is come up against me. As he does with each of us who rebel against him, Jehovah pronounced a conditional Judgment upon Nineveh, they were to repent or be destroy. Here we see once again Jehovah pronouncing judgment of destruction on a nation who practiced evil. Fortunately, for the people of Nineveh, they heed the warning of Jehovah and repented.

When we as individuals or as a nation reject Jehovah as our God, we often reject the rights to be protected by him, thus exposing us to the evil treatment of the devil. Here we see the people of Sodom and the Antediluvian world, which turn away from Jehovah and chose to live wickedly had a judgment pronounced upon them and later had that judgment executed upon those cities, which resulted in the total and complete destruction of the city and its inhabitants. However, the righteous among them were saved. There was also Nineveh who had a judgment pronounced upon that city and its people yet that city was saved, because the people repented from their wicked ways.

Let us take a look at world events and the countries that most suffer from natural disasters. Every year we hear thousand dying in mudslides and flooding from typhoon in Asia, In Africa; a country that is blessed with every conceivable natural resource, that has the most fertile of land on the earth, yet million are affected by famine and die from starvation. Here we see these nations in these parts of the world are populated with people and nation who have turned away from Jehovah; here we have nations who have replaced the worship and homage of and to Jehovah with worship and homage to Idols and strange philosophy.

Like many people, who turn away from Jehovah, we forfeit the right to Jehovah’s protection. This is not to say that Africa, Asia and Haiti experience such fate as a result of the shared practice. But if the bible standards are the measuring stick for judgment then it will not be wrong to conclude such.

It is important to note that Jehovah is a all loving and forgiving God, he is not willing that any should perish but all should have everlasting life.