Haiti: Jesus or Judgement?

Is God judging Haiti? After all, this is a country known for its witch craft and child slavery. Did God finally get fed up and zap them?

I had a college professor who once insinuated that God doesn't do things like that. In the cafeteria of my Baptist college, some students were debating whether or not AIDS was God's judgement on homosexuals. Some felt a loving God would not do such a thing. I pointed out that God once sent poisonous snakes as a wake up call to his children in the wilderness.

My professor was incredulous, "Do you think God actually did that?" he asked.

"The Bible says he did," I replied. (See the book of Numbers chapter 21.)

The fact is, our loving God sometimes takes desperate measures to get the attention of the people he created.

So, what about Haiti, or AIDS for that matter?

My answer is this: Be very careful about drawing any conclusions.

Does that sound like sitting the fence? Perhaps it is. But to me, it's fearing God.

To say that God would not do such a thing is to subject God to our human and limited understanding of love. He is simply not bound by our definitions.

But to say that he has judged another person, or another people group, is kind of like reading another person's mail, only worse...much worse. It's presuming a higher level of holiness than those you think are being judged.

Jesus addressed such an issue in Luke 13. Some people were talking about a group of Galileans who were killed by Pilate. We don't know exactly what they said, but they must have implied that the Galileans were experiencing God's judgement. Here's what Jesus said:

Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

In other words, when calamity strikes, soul searching is the proper response. To check out the other guy's guilt is wrong. To evaluate your own relationship with God is right.

The other response is compassion. God is always glorified by the loving responses of his children. Now is the time to extend a hand of love to Haiti. Two of my favorite charities are Samaritan's Purse and Compassion International. Of course the Red Cross, the Clinton-Bush fund, and a number of other charities are helping, too. I hope you will do what you can.

And don't forget to pray, pray, pray.

Gettin' Real!
Melodie

Christmas Clashes Can Shell Shock the New Year

Have old family battles pranced merrily into your new year? Sometimes Christmas trees bring more than lights and tinsel. Opening brightly colored boxes is fun, but opening old wounds of dysfunctional relationships is definitely not. When the carols are all sung out and the ornaments are back in the attic for another year’s wait, Christmas clashes can still leave us shell shocked long after the holidays are over.

In my post Does Christmas Highlight Family Pain?, I examined Jan Silvious's description of the the fools in our lives. In her book Fool-proofing Your Life, Silvious uses Proverbs, as well as other Biblical passages, to help us understand that some people habitually relate foolishly with others. Whereas the Bible calls us to love our enemies, what to we do with friends, co-workers, and family members who aren’t exactly enemies, but who drive us crazy just the same? Here are some tips from Silvious to help us deal effectively with the impossible people in our lives:

1. Put away your own childish reactions (p150). A foolish person likes to engage in verbal battles. Don’t join in. Resist to the urge to engage. It takes two to argue. Refuse to be one of the two.

2. Determine that you can live with or without your fool (p152-153). This doesn’t necessarily mean you will divorce your spouse or kick out a rebellious teenager. It means you have an inner change that results in abandoning clingy behavior.

3. Stop trying to change your fool (p153).

4. Turn away from evil (p167-8). Turn away inwardly by choosing your steps wisely. Turn away to a safe location if your fool is violent.

5. Overcome evil with good (p169-171). Your goal is not to appease the fool. Instead practice godly kindness. Perhaps your kindness will expose his or her folly and bring repentance. Perhaps not. Either way, you are growing.

6. Detach (p171-2). Don’t open yourself up to intimacy. Speak with the civility and kindness that you use with a waiter or sales associate. Be polite, exchange pleasantries, but don’t engage in combat.

7. Speak the truth with strength and dignity (p173-4). The goal is not to convince the fool. The goal is the feed your spirit with the strength that truth brings. Perhaps the fool with change as a result, perhaps not.

8. Pray.

Silvious’s book is packed with wisdom on every page. The list above is great, but it barely scratches the surface of the solid advice she gives. Each chapter is filled with Scripture and each ends with a short Bible study. This is the best book I’ve read on this subject, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is dealing with difficult people.

Enjoy!

Gettin’ Real!
Melodie

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.