The floods last week in Kerrville, Texas not only took everyone by surprise, but at the time of this writing left around 100 people dead, including several young girls at summer camp. Tragically, it won’t take long for people to use this incredibly sad event to blame God for perceived inattention and inactivity. Is this true and appropriate to do?
At the end of His six days of creation (Genesis 1:31), God surveyed all that He had made, and proclaimed it “very good.” Flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and death were unknown. Mankind existed in a paradise of happiness and beauty where they shared an intimate and eternal relationship with their Maker (Genesis 3:8, 22).
But as a direct consequence of human sin, the earth was “cursed” (Genesis 3:17). This effectively means that the cause of everything that’s wrong with the earth is ungodliness. Since God is love, and since love allows freedom of choice, God allows freedom of choice (cp. Joshua 24:15; John 5:39-40). God didn’t create men and women to serve Him without free will on their part. Regrettably, mankind now reaps the consequences of the misuse of freedom of choice (i.e. the sin) of previous generations (Galatians 6:5-8).
Instead of blaming God because evil, pain, and suffering exist, we should turn to Him for strength, and let tragedies (of whatever nature) remind us that this world never was intended to be a final home (Hebrews 11:13-16). Our time here is temporary (James 4:14), and with God’s help, we’re able to overcome whatever tragedies come our way (Psalm 46:1-3; Romans 8:35-39; 1 Peter 5:10).
Kyle Campbell