Ponder anew what the Almighty can do....

So, today's sermon at church was all about love. And after all of the devastation in Haiti, I got to thinking about the phenomenal amounts of love our country has shown to them. I also got to thinking about some of the remarks some of my "fellow brothers and sisters" in Christ have said about all of the aforementioned devastation.

"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said.

In my minimal research, I found a website that discusses the history of France and Haiti. According to this website, there was tension between France and the French Colony of Saint Dominigue (which is present day Haiti) due to slavery. The slaves made pacts with Britain and Spain and, eventually, there was a threat of British and Spanish invasions, so France abolished slavery and the former slaves continued the revolt until they could finally declare themselves independent in 1804. Now, I know I may not be blessed with the spiritual gift of reading between the lines, but this doesn't sound too different from any of the other revolts that have occurred in any of the other hundreds of countries around the world, and I certainly don't see any mention of pact-making with the devil. I would also like to throw in that, although many websites do confirm that voodoo is a large part of worship in Haiti, 85% of the country is Roman Catholic.

I would also like to throw out there the fact that my God is not a vengeful God. I do not believe that God would do this to "get back" at the people of Haiti because they worship in an alternative way. Just the same way God did not cause Hurricane Katrina to go through New Orleans's French Quarter because of all the promiscuity that goes on there (because, after all, the French Quarter was almost untouched). I am not saying that God did not cause the earthquake or hurricane to happen, but I do not believe God caused them to happen out of shear vengeance. I do not believe that God is punishing those afflicted for things they have done because, if that is the case, I should not be sitting here typing this blog post. I just get so frustrated when people blame God for things they themselves cannot control. What kind of love does that show?

I pray that God lays a hand of healing and of peace on the people of Haiti. A hand that only the God of justice and love can lay - because the Haitians are my brothers and sisters too. I will love them through their anguish just as I will love those, who make comments like that above, through their ignorance.