My Pet Peeve: "It's an Act of God"

We all have our own particular pet peeves.  One that makes me cringe is when I hear someone call a tragedy an "Act of God".  To them an act of God is when a hurricane or tornado destroys cities, homes and takes lives.  When a tree falls on a house, it is an act of God.  If lightning strikes a person, it is an act of God.  It seems that whenever anything terrible happens, and we can not point a finger at some person, it is an act of God.

If I was a man who swore, this is where I would give you my boldest, loudest, most damning expletive. NO! NO! NO!  Every death, sickness, and tragedy is a result of man.  Yes, even the weather such as hurricanes is a result of man.

When God created this world for us, it was a perfect paradise.  There was no sickness.  There were no storms, earthquakes or tornadoes.  In fact there wasn't even any decay or death.  Man lived a perfect, peaceful life until he rebelled against God.  That rebellion caused death, sickness and pain to come into this world.  Man lost a part of himself which was pure and perfect and he could no long pass that down to his children.  And so mankind was cursed to live the sin burdened lives we have now in this world.

After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, their descendants grew in number and also in rebellion against God.  The people became so corrupt that God had to save Noah and his family before even they were corrupted into a life full of sin.  So God destroyed all flesh and in doing so He changed the weather and the lands to where they are now unstable.  Earthquakes and storms are now found all around the world as a result of man's rebellion.

You want to know what an act of God really is?  Cancer is a result of man's sin, but there are people walking around today that God has healed.  People who were to die in weeks or months are alive and well after many years because of God.

God has brought marriages back together.  He has comforted those who have experienced loss.  If someone dies we say, "God took him."  No.  Sin took that person from us but, if they knew Jesus as Savior, God carried them home to Him.

Acts of God are acts of love, not tragedy.