Tragedy reveals our humanity or lack there of. I’m convinced of that. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Asian Tsunami, and now the Haitian earthquake have all revealed the true colors of our brothers and sisters in the family of mankind. In the past 24 hours, the outpouring of compassion and generosity has been beautiful. At my work place today, an announcement was made over the intercom that donations could be made during lunch. Many compassion driven organizations such as the Red Cross, Compassion International, Bread for the World, Tom’s Shoes, Water Missions International, and Soles4Souls have jumped right to work to aid the victims of this horrendous event.
And then there are those who lack compassion. I saw an article today about scammers setting up fake Haitian relief sites in order to pocket some cash. How wicked can one become?
And there is always our favorite judgmental preacher, Pat Robertson. In 2005, Robertson made the comment that Hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment on the city of New Orleans for all of its sin and evil ways. So now, he’s at it again. Haiti made a pact with the devil, so they are cursed. That’s what Pat says. Why is it that Christianity has to continue getting a black eye from this guy? For me, I look at the Bible and I see plenty of times God poured out His wrath on the earth due to sin and wickedness. Don’t disagree. But to continuously say that on a nationally broadcast television show is compassion-less and thoughtless.
We must learn to walk the fine line of biblical truth and human compassion. When I look at Jesus’ life, His tough words were for the church crowd, not the sinners and tax collectors and prostitutes. If you’re reading this and you aren’t a follower of Jesus, I beg you to not allow Pat Robertson’s heartless words turn you off from seeking to know more about Jesus and what a life given over to Him is like. There is so much to discover and, trust me, it is a wonderful journey.
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