It Rains on the Just and the Unjust

I read something the other day; a blogger was postulating that the rain and flooding in the Midwest was proof that God supports gay marriage. His logic was something like this: When Katrina hit New Orleans, a whole lot of evangelical preachers started talking about how God was pronouncing judgment against the sinners that lived there. So, when the courts in California legalized gay marriage, one would expect a similar outpouring of the Almighty’s wrath in California; instead, we had these major disasters in the Midwest, where the people aren’t even thinking about legalizing gay marriage. Clearly, God is warning the Midwesterners that they are the sinners, and California represents the righteous. If I didn’t think he was being facetious, I would point out the fires that they are having in California now. He makes a good point though, why is it that every time some natural disaster hits, people look for someone or something to blame? There was that one nut that said Heath Ledger died because of that one movie that he did (if so, why are the cast of Will and Grace still alive and kicking?). The fact of the matter is, sometimes things just happen. If you’re having a bad day, it isn’t necessarily your fault (or God's fault). Job had a few bad days, that wasn’t his fault. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that the sun rises on the evil and the good, and it rains on the just and the unjust. Further, in Luke 13, the disciples were talking about some men in Galilee that met a tragic faith, and Jesus asked them if they thought those men were sinners above all the Galilaeans, and that was why they suffered such things, but Jesus said no, they weren’t, and went on to say that if the rest of us don’t repent, we will all likewise perish. He went on to talk about 18 people that died when the tower of Siloam fell on them, were they sinners above all those in Jerusalem? No, they weren’t. So many times, too, people take it personally when something bad happens; for example, if they lose a loved one. I understand that can be a hard thing to deal with. When God calls someone home, though, that’s really between Him and that individual. We all lose loved ones. If you stop and think, though, what is it you really want in those situations? Do you want your wife (or husband) to survive and mourn your passing? Would you really want them to feel that? Death is part of the life cycle; there is just no getting around that. Don’t take it personally, as though God took someone that you cared about just to punish you. He doesn’t usually work like that (I have to add the 'usually' caveat because of David and Bathsheba’s first son. God took him specifically to punish David and Bathsheba--mostly David).God is in control, but a lot of times He stays out of the details. He allows us to make our own choices. Sometimes those choices are good, and sometimes they are bad. Sometimes we suffer because we made a bad choice, other times because someone else made a bad choice. Sometimes others suffer for our bad decisions. That’s not God’s fault. If one dies, but one is ready, then that person’s suffering is over. Of course, if one dies when one is not ready, then that person’s suffering is just beginning. Does God use disasters to remind people to be ready? Certainly, but the people who are hurt or killed during the disaster aren’t necessarily the ones He was trying to remind. And he didn’t necessarily cause the disaster in order to use it as a reminder. Sometimes He just let’s things happen, and deals with people after the fact. “See what happened there? That could have been you. Don’t you have some getting ready to do?”

UPDATE:  Apparently the site I was linking to has changed their format; I have fixed the links.  My apologies...