“Your children must have sinned against God, and so he punished them as they deserved.”        Job 8:4 GNB

I was minding my own business, or, more truthfully, just starting my Bible reading for the morning when I was struck by the above verse. The idea and accusation against Job: His troubles were the result of his own or his family’s sin. It reminded me of what I share with others about Guatemalan beliefs. Many people feel they have a child with a disability because they have sinned or are being punished by God, often blaming the mom.

Then I remembered those times of anguish in my own life. I remember asking, “God what have I done to deserve this? What did I do wrong?” Or in looking at others’ struggles, I’ve thought to myself, what is the sin or family sin that is causing this to happen?  Maybe, if you’re honest, you’ve had those thoughts, too.  We often hear people say, “They got what they deserved” or “They received what was coming to them.” After all, you sow what you reap, right?

But here is the thing: the catastrophe in Job’s life was not due to his personal sin. Like Job’s friends, the people I work with in Guatemala, and so many others, we need to have an explanation for why “bad” things happen. We need to blame to understand and make sense of things, which gets me thinking that I’m not much different than those families who blame the mother for their child’s disability. I need His truth and saving in this area of my life as much as they do. It’s just easier to see and point it out in their culture.

In fact, we often talk about it being a syncretistic culture in Guatemala, mixing the Mayan beliefs within the church. Haven’t we done the same? Of course, our ways may appear more sophisticated and advanced, but if you look around, we’re not so different after all. We all have fallen short of the glory of God. We need to be saved and we need His grace and truth.