Robertson is wrong about Haiti

by Steven Scheib

The problem with CBN broadcaster Pat Robertson's opinion about Haiti is that he is one of a few in Christian circles who believe that if you suffer in poverty, you are under a curse from God.

Robertson recently contrasted Haiti's desperate poverty with the prosperous Dominican Republic, which shares the other side of the same island. His conclusion: Because Haiti made a pact with the devil to deliver it from the heel of the French and oppressive rule of Napoleon the Third, Haiti is suffering for the sins of its forefathers, while the Dominican Republic is enjoying prosperity. Is this the real reason for the devastating earthquake?

None of us should ever suggest that Haitians died in this earthquake because of a pact that their forefathers made with the devil. This is absurd and it is does not reflect the true nature of the Gospel.

Three missionary friends of mine also died last week. Would Robertson suggest that they were less guilty than all the Haitians?

I tell you, no! We should all get on our knees and pray for Haiti and recognize that our lives are temporary. We live in a fallen world. Good is what God wills; evil is what resists and contradicts His will, and hence His nature. God's wrath is not arbitrary, fitful or subject to emotion as in human beings. This truth was not mentioned.

I have been serving in Haiti for 30 years, serving on numerous work teams and later moving to Haiti with my family to work in an orphanage for one year (Ebenezer Glen Orphanage, Dessalines, Haiti).

Most of the Haitians that I know love God, even though their standard of living is way below that of the world. They are happy. They get by on little and laugh at themselves. They take what life hands them with only the provisions they can gather for today.

They do not worry about tomorrow. Why? They know who holds their future is greater than he who is in the world. Most Christians know this and recognize that God knows all those who are His, and He will never forsake or abandon them. The tragedy of life is not that some die young, as many did on Jan. 12, but to live a long robust life, and never use it in the service of the Living God. The worst thing that can happen is to spend an eternity separated from the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

This is the real truth that Robertson failed to mention. He knows it, but he forgot to mention it.

Steven Scheib, longtime mission worker, operates S.R. Scheib & Company, an independent manufacturers' representative in Cedar Rapids, and is a licensed broker and contractor.