One thing I’m very sick and tired of is hearing from wacko Christian televangelists that this hurricane or that earthquake is God’s judgment against us for homosexuality, or abortion, or liberal politics.
Not only is this kind of claim not based on any sort of
Scripture, the logical conclusions drawn from such statements are preposterous.
For example, does this mean that we can control the weather
by being more or less Holy? Could we eventually eliminate hurricanes and
earthquakes by our increased righteousness? Is that something that Jesus even
hints at?
I also have to wonder, why doesn’t God throw a hurricane
around for our sins of apathy towards the poor like He did to Sodom? Why doesn’t
God smack Vegas with an earthquake for their sins of greed and prostitution? Why
doesn’t God rain down fire from heaven on all of us for drunkenness, idolatry,
pride, selfishness, adultery, and lies? Those sins are pretty awful, aren’t
they?
Frankly, God seems to be much more bent out of shape about
how we treat the poor than He is about anything else we do, or don’t do. [See Ezekiel 16:49-50; Matt. 25:41-46]
Yes, God can send judgment against whomever He wants, in any
way that He wants. But, I don’t believe that these televangelists who pretend
to speak for God are doing it right. See, the way it usually works is that God
will speak to the prophet in advance of the judgment. Then He will proclaim
what that judgment will look like, and He will provide a window of opportunity
for repentance before sending that judgment against the people.
These American prophets are doing it bass-ackwards. They
wait for the news to tell them what’s coming and then they point the blame on
the group of sinners that they happen to like the least. That’s not how God
works.
So, I don’t think we need to start worrying about how the
sins of others might be affecting the weather or the tectonic plates. What we
do need to be concerned with, as followers of Christ, is our own attitudes
about our own sin. See, God says that the healing of our land is based on the
repentant hearts of those “who are called by (His) Name”, not the filthy
sinners downtown.
God says that, if the ones who love Him will humble
themselves and seek His face, and turn from their own wicked ways, that then,
and only then, will He turn and hear their prayers, and forgive their sins (not
the sins of the heathen), and heal their land. [see 2 Chronicles 7:14]
The televangelists who love to point the finger and blame
these disasters on others need to crack open their Bibles and start doing what
it says. Otherwise, they might need to stock up on bottled water and canned
food pretty soon.
1 comment:
Great Post Keith! I totally agree with you!
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