Posted by BY J E SOLOMON
For ages, the Devil has been regarded as the entity behind almost every unpleasant incidents or events in human life. Even natural disasters such as earthquakes and ravaging storms sometimes are said to be the workings of the Devil. It wasn’t surprising therefore that the well-known American Televangelist, Reverend Pat Robertson, had the guts to say that the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010 was the work of the Devil. Pat Robertson argued that Haiti had been “cursed” by a “pact to the devil” in 1804. Haiti, a former French colony, sought for self-rule and proclaimed its independence on January 1, 1804.
It’s hard for some believers to understand the mind set of Rev. Pat Robertson and others like him who perceive themselves as spokesmen of God and, as such, whatever they say must be accepted hook, line and sinker. I wonder how many of Pat Robertson’s associates had the courage to publicly trash his outrageous comments as devil-inspired talks. Statements like those he made in the wake of the Haiti tragedy only inspire resentment and breed hatred, the root causes of most of the things we blame the Devil for.
Our pulpits today have been invaded by self-seekers parading as anointed men of God. Consider this pastor of a large congregation who was asking for donations to support his so-called Holy-Ghost inspired project. He had the courage to say that, “I don’t care how you get it” (meaning the money). Even if I should go out there and rob with violence just to get the money, it would have been okay for him.
As a society, we have created legal avenues that cleverly exploit the struggling majority all in the name of lottery. Some New Jersey Lottery Games (Pick 3, Pick 4) are drawn twice daily (Day & Eve) seven days a week. So while the owners fill their pockets with huge profits from the lotteries, the targeted majority who patronize these lotteries continue to be poorer.
In times of desperation and need, with nowhere to turn to, the weak-minded ones among us tend to lose their sense of propriety and resort to robbery, sometimes with violence. And we don’t see the root causes of such crimes.
When we think we no longer need God in our schools, or things of the spirit in our personal lives, we shall reap the fruits of our misguided actions. When we ignore the lessons of the nature of cause and effect, certainly our children will grow up without the cherished moral values of the good old days.
We need to learn to live for one another, care more about moral values than material values. We need to love one another, and eschew greed and excessive display of affluence. We need to awaken to our spiritual nature so as to reap the fruits of the Divine Spirit – God, or whatever you choose to call it. Failing these, we shall continue to see more of the things we blatantly blame the Devil for.