Assessing blame in Haiti

Even though believers are explicitly instructed not to judge others, there is a jaw-dropping amount of judgment going on within the Church. It may be human nature to hear of something bad happening to someone and wondering what that person has done wrong, but it should not be Christian thinking to assess blame and find fault. And, while there is plenty of judging of individuals going on, I am thinking specifically of Haiti, and the old tale which has been dragged out yet again: Haiti made a deal with the devil, and that is why it is poverty-stricken and now devastated by this latest disaster. I'll borrow the strongest phrase of disapproval I ever heard my father use, "That's a crock for the birds."

I won't try to elaborate about how Haiti has repeatedly been invaded, enslaved, occupied and/or burdened with debt not of its citizens' making. And, aside from that, whether or not a "deal" was ever made with any dark force may or may not even be true. But I challenge anyone to provide evidence from the New Testament that the way God works is to make a whole country suffer for the (real or imagined) past sins of a handful of people. I find nothing in the teachings of Jesus to bear that out.

On the contrary, Jesus explains in Luke 13 that eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them were no worse than anyone else. And when his disciples inquire as to why a particular man is blind by asking, "who sinned, this man or his parents...?" Jesus said, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (See John 9:2-3) For final evidence as to the fruitlessness of trying to find a direct correlation between suffering and sin, we only have to look at what happened at Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.

Our individual actions and decisions can bring us misery, but it is not for us to judge others, Haiti included, and it is beside the point to try to assess blame for what has happened there. The real fault lies in not doing what we can to help, because Jesus goes on to say in John 9:4, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day. . ." Then he put his words into action and healed the man of his blindness. We are not called to judge Haiti; we are called to shine the Light and help heal Haiti.