No matter what we profess, most of us share a simple philosophy. We believe good things happen to the good, and bad things happen to the bad. We choose to do the right thing, and we expect to be rewarded. When we do wrong, we expect the consequences. We teach this philosophy to our kids, and for the most part, it’s true. However, occasionally reality doesn’t fit our expectations.Bad stuff sometimes happens for no apparent reason. The rules that we once trusted don’t seem to apply. When faced with a situation that we cannot explain, it can be scary. To cope, we even try to force the evidence to fit the analysis. In the book of Job, his friends cannot understand why Job is suffering. Why would the righteous be punished by God? The friends assume that Job must be guilty of some secret sin. They fabricate sins and condemn Job so their philosophy remains intact.
A few weeks ago, the earth shook in Haiti. Some reports estimate the dead as numbering around 200,000. The ticker on the cable stations run a constant stream of bad news. We see the pictures, and we wonder why. The devastation in Haiti does not make sense. Like Job’s friends justifying their own philosophy, I recently heard a minister tell a television audience that Haiti was being punished because of a deal with the devil made many years ago. The story is outlandish and pure fiction, but some hold onto it because it fits. What goes around, comes around.
Our philosophy falls short. As Christians, we know that we are broken by sin, and the world is broken as well. All the explanations in the world will not take away the pain. What we really want is comfort in the midst of an uncomfortable world. The suffering of this world will be redeemed by God in Jesus Christ. We have hope because of Christ’s death and resurrection. We have comfort, and we must be a comfort.
The earthquake in Haiti is not a time for recriminations. Instead, it is a call to action. When explanations are not available, we need to hold onto the comfort of Jesus Christ. Take the time to offer comfort in a world where our philosophies fail.
