13/01/2025
Yesterday i posted about the fire incident, some comments indicate that God was judging the people of California. I saw my Kaka comments and decided to chat her up. Then she said she could explain better and here is the explanation.
Greetings friends of Oki
For those who do not know me, I am Dr. Coleen Starwalt, member of SIL Nigeria and one of Oki's colleagues. Oki has graciously agreed to post clarification concerning my comments on the fires in Southern California. I hope in this post that I can respond more graciously than what I did the other day. The reason I am not responding directly is that I have decided to take a break from Facebook until after the fires have been put out.
I took this decision after I posted here because of my realization that I was beginning to respond without Christian charity. It is important to me that I take the highroad in my posts and responses to others' posts in a public forum. I am an elder among us, one who mentors and shepherds younger adults in their personal and professional lives. To not demonstrate among you that which I desire to see you grow in is falling short of God's calling on my life. And for that, I apologize.
It is no shame for an older adult to apologize to others, regardless of what our respective cultures may have to say about such things. Within the Kingdom of God, humility is required for we are called to walk this way if we truly wish to follow Jesus.
This requires us to understand and confess that we do not know everything and that we need to be careful not to speak out of turn. For example, to suggest that California is burning right now because God is judging and punishing that State for the sins of a specific group of influential popular elites (such as movie stars or pop singers, or whatnot) is to speak out of turn. I say this gently now. I was angry and sarcastic the other day and I ask you to forgive me for not being patient and kind towards those whose understanding of God's word and ways are not necessarily as developed as my own. I have lived many years now.
The fact is, there are many factors that have led to the fires in California. Some are simply the geography of this area. It is a geographical desert prone to long spells of drought and period of low humidity that lead to very dry vegetation. The other aspect of the geography are the mountains and the artic cold fronts coming from Canada that affect the weather patterns from the middle of the United States to the West. Atmospheric high and low pressure coming over the mountains East of Los Angeles create the condition called the Santa Ana winds which are dry and hot. We do not always have fire associated with these winds but sometimes we do. And depending on where they occur, they can be quite devasting to communities of people. Los Angeles and its surrounding communities is one of the most densely populated parts of the United States. We are talking about millions and millions of people. There are good and bad people among those millions, just like there are among the millions of Nigerians.
These fires result from a variety of natural and manmade events. For example, there could be a lightening strike that starts a forest fire. There could also be some fool who throws a lighted cigarette out his car window that starts a fire. There could be an electrical line that is blown down in the high winds that starts a fire. There could be a transformer that explodes that starts a fire. There could be a wicked person called an arsonist who starts a fire.
There are also socio-political factors deeply rooted in the ideology of those who run the State of California or the municipal governments that I won't go into here but the decisions encoded into policy lead to poor preparation in the event of a wind storm and potential volatile fire event.
So, there are many, many factors that must be considered before passing judgment on cause or reason for these fires.
Is God judging California? Possibly. But we must be careful in such an assessment because we do not know the mind of God if He hasn't revealed it. I would beg us to remember that there are many Christians whose lives have been affected by these fires, not just the Godless in California. As Christians we live in the world without being a part of it (in principle.) And as such, we can suffer right alongside the Godless when tragedy strikes. But our Christian response whether we have lost our homes and businesses, etc. or if we have not, needs to be a Godly one of compassion, mercy and grace towards others. There are people, organizations, counties, even States that are responding in compassion towards those who have lost everything in these fires. Americans are deeply divided among many lines - racial, political, moral, ethical, etc. - yet we are coming together from all over the US to support those whose lives have been turned upside-down by these fires. Should you not join them even if it is only in prayer if you cannot help financially from afar?
I would also beg us to remember that we only see very much in part. Remember the story of Job. He lost everything to wind and thieves. He was a very wealthy man, the wealthiest in the part of the ancient world he lived in. He was considered greatly blessed by God and he was known to be a generous man. But when he lost everything, his closest friends began to accuse him of being ungodly, of having sinned. That's why he suffered all that loss, and even was suffering in his body, they maintained. That is why he deserved this punishment! And they said this to a man in deep grief and suffering. Even his own wife told him to stop hanging on to his integrity, to curse God, and die.
But Job had not done anything deserving punishment. How do we know this? Only because we are given a glimpse into the spiritual realm where a conversation between God Almighty and Satan, the Accuser, took place. And it is there that God Himself says that Job is a man full of integrity and beyond reproach. But Satan says that the only reason Job worships God is because He has put a hedge of protection around him. And not once but twice God removes the hedge of protection and gives Satan permission to test Job but he may not kill Job, to prove to Satan that He, God, tells the truth, even about His servants. It is within this setting of testing that Job is tempted to deny the God who created him. But he does not, even in the midst of personal loss, illness and accusation from his closest friends and family members. He meets God face to face, as he repeatedly says he wanted to do to ask God why He allowed such suffering when he had done nothing to deserve it. But he has nothing to say in the face of God's power and unfathomable mind when God does show up in the whirlwind (a sign of judgment.) God restores Job to even twice as much as he had before. And he prays for his friends and God forgives them for speaking wrongly about Him.
Let us be careful, therefore, not to attribute to God as punishment things that we do not know, if God has not revealed His mind to us. Perhaps indeed God has permitted these fires to bring some to repentance. There is in fact much to judge not only California about but all of the United States, and Nigeria, too, as I have suggested. But today is the day of mercy not of judgment. God does not desire anyone to perish. But for all to turn to Him for salvation. Californians do need to repent of their sinful ways and turn to the Lord for salvation. As do Nigerians. Pray that many will respond to God in repentance. Pray also that the church of our Lord Jesus will rise up in compassion and help practically while also preaching the Gospel of peace so that those God is calling to Himself will hear the message of salvation in Jesus alone and choose to follow Him. Pray for better governance of the State and of the cities. Bless the State of California so that it can return to being a good leader within the 50 States of the United States of America. Pray for revival in the church and a great awakening among my people.
Then I will know that you truly love us. That you truly love me, a native Californian, and a fellow believer who has dedicated the rest of her ministry career with SIL to serving the Nigerian church in her responsibility to translate the Bible into your many languages.
Peace and blessings to you. Coleen
Thank u so much Kaka ♥️
