One day earlier this month I was talking with a man about apples and bears and the price of oil.

Then the conversation turned spiritual. At some point I asked him how he would personally reply if God asked him why he should be allowed into heaven when he died. He said that he would probably say to God, “Could’ve done worse.”

Really? Worse than who? Worse than what?

Suppose that your neighbor, to whom you seldom even give the time of day, buys a sleek new automobile. The next day you back into it. The left rear fender is scratched and the side door is badly crumpled. How likely is it that the owner will just happily dismiss charges because you point out to him that the damage could have been worse?

The fact that we might have been worse sinners is not likely to impress God on Judgment Day. Especially since he doesn’t grade on a curve. To a God who is 100 percent pure, some bad is as bad as all bad, and being bad is no better than being worse (James 2:10).

It may be difficult to comprehend let alone acknowledge, but even at our best we are all sadly depraved in the eyes of a God who is the essence of holiness (Romans 3:23).

By nature, we are bad enough to deserve condemnation and calamity. God owes none of us protection, mercy or heaven. The fact that any of us are ever spared disaster should cause all of us to constantly marvel.

But when tragedy does occur, what then? Is God targeting especially wicked people? Jesus answered that question 20 centuries ago.

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'” (Luke 13:1-5).

New Orleans did not suffer its terrible loss because homosexuals were planning another Southern decadence event. Thousands and thousands of people are not now homeless because that city proved less moral than other American cities. God does not operate that way in this present age.

However, one day he will. And that is the real point Jesus is making.

While his words no doubt had physical and historical implications, they also continue to have future and spiritual ramifications.

To use an analogy, Jesus was not referring to the few who recklessly drive their cars down the road at 120 mph, leave the road, hit a tree and die. He was talking about the millions of us who are, in a spiritual sense, daily driving our cars down the road at 120 mph and should therefore fully expect that we will soon leave the road, hit a tree, and die.

There are cases where people may suffer the direct consequence of their sin. But many more of us encounter adversity simply by living in a sinful, precarious world. Hurricanes happen. Cancer strikes so many people each year. Poverty and conflict and war and grief are part of a fallen creation.

In the end Jesus will return to restore all things (Revelation 19-22). Meanwhile we must recognize that he is faithful, not capricious. We must find his comfort in the midst of our hurt. We must allow him to be strong in our broken places. And even through tears, we must draw near to him so that he will draw near to us.

May God forgive our presumptuousness. May he deliver us from thinking that he owes any explanation for anything that he causes or allows, including Katrina. May he cause us to be amazed, not that some of us suffer adversity from time to time, but that all of us don’t incur judgment every hour on the hour.

May he straighten our warped notion that in us, inherently, dwells any good thing. May he draw us to himself where we can find help and healing. And may he move us to repent and call out for mercy, lest we all likewise perish.

The Rev. Daryl E. Witmer is founder and director of the AIIA Institute, a national apologetics ministry, and associate pastor of the Monson Community Church. He may be reached via AIIAInstitute@aol.com or through ChristianAnswers.Net/AIIA. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.