Haiti

I've waited to post about Haiti for several reasons. The main reason is that we have some dear friends from Haiti who were desperately searching for information on their immediate families still living there. Fortunately, they were all okay. Even though they are scared, living outside, and doing without a lot of things, they are alive.

Ultimately, however, I have become sick and tired of hearing people ask, "Why would God allow this to happen?" Or worse, to hear Pat Robertson say that the ancestors of the people of Haiti made a deal with the Devil to throw off French rule. How idiotic can you get? If that was they case, the people of Haiti would be prospering, because the Bible describes Satan as the ruler of this world. Wouldn't he want others to make deals with him by showing how rich he can make them rather than hurting those who made the deal with them? Robertson clearly is so deluded and irrational that he belongs in a home somewhere.

Instead of going over the Scriptural reasons why God is not responsible for what happened in Haiti, I want to focus on a main point that people seem to be overlooking: man is entirely responsible for the disaster in Haiti. Follow my reasoning.

First of all, Haiti as a nation is the most impoverished in the Western Hemisphere. People live on virtually nothing. Is that God's fault? Of course not. It all has to do with man's desire for power, man's greed, and man's lack of compassion. There has been coup after coup in Haiti, with government leaders taking money for themselves and leaving the people destitute. When people are poor, they take any kind of shelter they can get. Thus, the second problem: building standards in Haiti are non-existent. Look at the damage in Haiti. Then, look at the American Embassy in the same country. Which buildings are still standing? The buildings that were erected for foreign offices and built according to certain standards largely stood up to the quake. The Haitian people couldn't afford to build like that. Thus, the buildings toppled like cards.

I could go on and on about infrastructure, poverty and the like, but I won't. You get the picture. It is man who allowed this to happen. It is man's greed and selfishness and "me first" attitude that caused this. Think of all the donations pouring in to Haitian relief right now. What if that money had been used years ago to reinforce buildings, provide good housing and food, and to create a solid infrastructure. Would this disaster have happened? The earthquake wouldn't have been prevented (another topic for discussion), but there might have been a much smaller loss of life.

I was very worried about our friends in Haiti. That worry hasn't abated. Even though they are safe, there is still desperate need. And after that? What happens then? Instead of blaming God or asking why he didn't prevent this, people need to look deep inside and ask, "What could we have done to prevent this?" Then, do what needs to be done so it doesn't happen again.