Curse?

I have been thinking about the tragedy in Haiti, and the unfortunate remarks by Pat Robertson. For those that do not know, Pat Robertson said the people of Haiti made a pact with the devil and that is why they are suffering. Pat Robertson said the Haitians made that pact to get rid of the French.

Now, I do not know if this is true or not, but his comment is extremely unfortunate. I do not want to call them dumb, stupid, idiotic, etc...I will just say they were unfortunate and extremely un-Christian. There is no way Pat could know if that was the cause of the tragedy. Did God create the earthquake to punish the Haitian people? Possible. Why not? But, it is not for us to declare and especially not for Pat Robertson to declare. I say it is possible because God has been known to destroy cities. Right?

Our job, and Pat's job, is to mourn the losses and help our fellow man in need. We are to do whatever we can to ease the suffering of the living and respect the dead. We are not to lay blame on anyone, that is being judgmental of which we are not to be. I am not judging Pat, I am saying that his comments were unhelpful.

I did state that they were un-Christian because I do feel they were un-Christian. His comment did nothing to help the people, on the contrary it probably kept some people from donating their time or money. We are to help our fellow man, and his comments did far more harm that good because of his vast following.

This is not the only problem I have with his comments. The additional problem I have is with Pat Robertson himself. Yes, he professes he is a Christian, but the more I read about him he is missing one very fundamental aspect. We are to glorify God in all our actions, but Pat seems to want to glorify himself more than he does God. He says and does things to make himself look good. I just get a feeling that he does what he does to increase his wealth and status, but not working solely to glorify God. Yes, I think Joel Osteen falls in this category also. Please, disagree if you wish.

The more I learn the more I feel compelled to be humble. I profess my belief, I cherish my faith, but I do not feel compelled to gather vast wealth to spread my belief. I feel compelled to lead others to a greater understanding, but that is not for myself. It is something I would enjoy, seeing the great changes in a person as their faith blossoms as it has done within me. But that is only for God, not me.

I am sorry if it seems like I am angry at Robertson and Osteen, I am not. I am thankful that they do try to bring people closer to God, I just feel some of their actions have ulterior motives. I am still learning, and probably always will be.

I want to end with a prayer: Father, we pray for the suffering people of Haiti. Please guide them as they work towards rebuilding their lives and comfort the survivors as they mourn their losses. We pray for protection of the Haitians and special protection for all the aid workers now risking their lives to help their fellow man. Amen