Pat Robertson, founder of CBN, a religious broadcaster and religious leader stated that he believed Haiti’s earthquake was caused by the Haitians having made a “pact with the Devil” to oust the French occupation. He stated the earthquake was a blessing so that the people could come back to God. These remarks were unaccepted to most and in particular those who are anti-Christians.

My intention is not to defend what Rev. Robertson said but maybe why he said anything. For the past twenty-two years investors continually ask us, why the stock market is up or why it is down. It seems most people want a reason for most anything. It would not be acceptable for me to tell them that the market goes down when there are more sellers than buyers and it goes up when more people are buying than selling. They want a logical answer. With the best information we can find, we give them an answer that we hope is right but it could be just as wrong.

Throughout the day, when I am not with a client, I am listening to CNBC, financial news, on my computer. Everyone has a reason for everything and most do not agree on the reasons given. But don’t most of us want to know why God allows bad things to happen since He is in control? Yet, none of us really know for sure and neither does Pat Robertson. So we assume and assumptions can get us into trouble as it did with Rev. Robertson. Broadcasters believe it is their duty to give you a reason for any and everything that happens and that, I believe, is what he was doing.

Romans 8:20 – 21 – “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Sin caused all creation to fall from the perfect state in which God created it. The world is subject to frustration and bondage to decay so that it cannot fulfill its intended purpose.) (NLT)

Many theologians believe that sin has caused storms, earthquakes and other acts of nature as I pointed out previously in my blogs “The Power of Prayer” and “It is no longer called an ‘Act of God’”. I wasn’t shocked when Pat Robertson said what he did. I just thought he probably should not have said it at the present moment, if that is what he truly believes. May this be a lesson to each Christian, we must be careful in making statements we have no way of proving. Otherwise, they will think we are a bunch of kooks!

As Christians our hope lies in knowing that there will be a day when we will live on a new earth with a new heaven as God promised. There will be no sin, evil, sickness and no negative acts of God as we have had on our present earth. Until that time, it will continue to rain on the just and the unjust. There is only one kind of umbrella that will protect us and that is the Grace of God through salvation.