Haiti, the Gospel, and the American Dream

As I write this, I, like most of the world have been witnessing the devestation in Haiti. We have been watching the rescue efforts, hearing reports of mass graves, of untold thousands who have died and vanished, and praying.

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have been pouring out their prayers, their sympathy and sending in money to help the people of Haiti.

In the United States, there has been mixed reaction to this devestation. While most people have been asking themselves "what can we do?", there have been others who have used this event as an opportunity to spread hatred and attempt to politicize this disaster.

First we had Pat Robertson who suggested that this event had occurred because the Haitian people had made a 'pact with the devil' and now God was bringing to bear his wrath. Rev. Robertson is truly entitled to his opinion, and as a pastor, I can see what he was trying to say, but his unfortunate choice of words have led few to believe that the Haitians, 'had it coming.'

Then some prominent American conservatives thinkers, among them Rush Limbaugh, suggested that we had spent too much money on Haiti and that instead of sending any more money to Haiti, we needed to spend it here. From a political point of view, I can see thier point. And I would agree that the answer to this catastrophe does not lie with the American government. It lies with the church.

These tragic events in Haiti remind us of the potential of disaster at any moment. This tragedy could have happened in California or Hawaii, or Europe, or Africa...but it didn't. It happened in Haiti, a tiny nation that has reeled from one disaster to another. We could spend time asking, 'why there...' or 'why not here,' but such questions would be pointless. It happened.

The only question worth asking is: "what will we do now?"

As Christians, this answer is very easy, "Whatever we can!" While each individual Christian may not go to Haiti or even contribute to the relief effort, we as the Church have a responsibility to make sure we are present in the effort to save lives and to rebuild Haiti.

Here is an opportunity for us to see the Gospel in action and an opportunity to share God's Love and God's Word with people who may not know it. If the Church ignores Haiti at this point, it will be a tragedy beyond the power of any 'pact with the devil.'

The Gospel is about God rebuilding His world. He restores fellowship with people through the atoning death of his Son Jesus Christ. Those who turn in faith to Jesus are saved from the penalty of their sin and have the privilige of not only sharing the Good News with others, but also of helping to demonstrate God's kingdom here on earth.

Jesus was not really interested in protecting one country's wealth at the expense of anothers. Jesus is not interested to see one person become wealthy while others starve. Jesus was about taking care of others in need (Luke 10:25-37).

We can look at what is happening in Haiti and either give into despair or look to God in hope. I believe that this is a time when the Church must put the gospel into action. We must ignore the rantings of Pat Robertson and the narrow interest of the American wealth, and, as the Church, reach out to Haiti and offer them the true love of the God as well as the true Word of God.