Christian Living

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If you‘re a believer, you‘re likely to hear this question posed more than others: “ Why, if God exists, and He is good, is there pain and suffering in the world? It seems that this is the most common and most emotional objection that people have to the existence of God; or if He does exist then He’s pitifully indifferent to the happenings in the world. This is supposedly the greatest indication that God cannot exist because surely , if He did, pain would not exist either. That an omniscient being who could--if He wished to--wipe away all the tragic sufferings of humanity with a spoken word, but opts not to is too inconceivable for most of us. I think most of us would assert that if we had that kind of power, we’d rid the world of pain in an instant. So to imagine that someone who had that power but wouldn‘t, is more than unthinkable.
An ancient philosopher named Epicurus condensed this type of frustrated scepticism into a neatly composed riddle. It goes like this:

“If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to, Then He is not omnipotent. If He is able, but not willing, Then He is malevolent. If He is both able and willing, Then whence cometh evil? If He is neither able nor willing, Then why call Him God?”

As a side note, we need to assert here that the atheist has no rational framework by which to deem anything objectively good or evil in his worldview. But that’s a philosophical debate for another time. What I wish to do is address the sentiments contained in the above statement on a purely biblical level. The Bible is the source for the answers to the questions or arguments people have about God, and this dilemma concerning pain is no different. In fact, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, I think this question is undoubtedly the most important one any Christian can answer for the non-Christian. Because the reality of pain is such that everyone can identify with it ( we all have pain in our lives to some degree or another, even Joel Osteen) ; and because it touches people both on the individual and collective levels, it will be and often does present itself as the largest barrier between a person and how much faith they are able to have.

In order to coherently answer this question, we must answer two questions first: what is the biblical reason for why pain exists, and why does God permit it? Then afterwards I’d like to speak a bit about the people who do have to suffer in this world and what the Bible says about them.

There are, as I see it, two primary reasons why pain exists.

Human Decision

One of our greatest follies as human beings is to not understand that a lot of our personal anguish is initiated because of the choices ourselves and other people make. Every act of evil perpetrated on this planet is the result of someone’s free choice, and you can pin a great deal of the world’s suffering--war, famine, domestic crime, disease, etc--on the atrocious decision making of human beings. This can’t be stressed enough, and the reason it is so easy to inload all of our anguish on the shoulders of God is because we fail to acknowledge our own responsibility and contributions to the world’s pain. When we watch a third of the world’s population with little or nothing to eat, God is a convenient scapegoat. But the reality is that man has the resources to feed those people and eliminate poverty, but through greed and selfishness chooses not to do so, and the wealth becomes spread disproportionately.

Similarly, a good many diseases are man-made ultimately, either through environmental or sexual self-destruction. All wars are certainly a product of man’s free decision, as are criminal acts. The current dilapidated state of the economy is the result of man’s reckless financial practices. What has to be understood is that man is a free creature--a gift given to him by his Creator. He has the freedom to choose good or evil. Since man is a sinner according to the Bible, he often chooses evil predominantly. It is he who decides to let millions of children starve to death. It is he who initiated the cataclysm that was World War 2, leading to the deaths of over 50 million people. It is he who harms his neighbours using murder, theft, rape, extortion, and habitual lies. None of this can be pinned on God--He neither forces our hands to do evil nor does he condone it. And interestingly enough, this is just about what we might anticipate a sinful creature would do: to shift the responsibility for his immorality over to someone else. An evil person always tries to do this, and this extends to collective humanity as well; not wanting to assume accountability for our decisions, and it is comfortable for us that we have a patsy to stick it to--in this case the patsy in question being God.

This reminds me of how some children try to pin their immorality on their parents. “ You didn’t raise me properly” or “ I didn’t ask to be born” are among the excuses they propound, which, as silly and irresponsible as those sound, is exactly the kind of thing collective humanity does when pointing fingers at God. Just as parents teach their children that their wrongdoings are entirely their fault and their responsibility to bear, the biblical doctrine of sin essentially tells man the same thing. In Joshua 24:15, people are told to “ choose this day whom you will serve.”



Satan

Most of us can recall a crime we’ve heard about in the news that has caused us to recoil in harrowing awe, such as the rape, murder, and the mutilation of a young child. We look at this in perplexing horror thinking “ How is it possible for a human being to be capable of such unthinkable evil? There are some criminal acts that seem to signify an evil that transcends our understanding; an evil that is so remarkable that it is almost supernatural. Often when we hear of a person doing something such as just mentioned, we tend to say “ They must be possessed” or words similar. That isn’t, I’m afraid, that far from the truth.

According to the scriptures there is a grimly spectacular evil which exists that is indeed supernatural. It is represented and propagated by a person, a being, known biblically as Satan. Satan is the greatest purveyor of evil there is, and the Bible refers to him as “ a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour” and that he “ steals, kills, and destroys”. Of course modernism has done its best to laugh away the idea of such a being, but the fact remains that no discipline--psychology, biology, anthropology, sociology, etc--has ever been able to explain the kind of evil found in a man like Hitler, or that which is found in serial child killers. Theology is the only discipline that has a coherent explanation, and even if you can’t acknowledge this ferocious type of grotesque evil is manifest in a being, you have to at least admit that there is something very terrifying out there.

The Christian position is that part of the world’s pain and suffering are the work of Satan, whose singular purpose is the destruction of humankind. That is his singular duty. That is his mission and purpose. He can cause evil both directly and indirectly according to scripture, and what he does the most is to tempt and influence human beings into wrongdoings. He is the voice that whispers “ Just one more drink” or “ What they don’t know won’t hurt them” or “ Your wife will never find out” or “ The money is worth it” etc, etc. His incredibly suggestive persuasion tempts men until some give in to their evil impulses. Man’s evil decision making is in part the work of Satan, and I suspect that he is very happy in being seen as a fictional character of mythology because that means he can roam about initiating misery and people will always blame someone or something else for it ( and that to me is shocking that people blame God for suffering, but never Satan). He is more than content to be seen as epitomizing “ coolness” or rebellion in the sort of perversely affectionate manner in which our popular culture views him, and not a real problem to be reckoned with. He can operate covertly and continue devising the most unspeakable horrors while we all scratch our heads in grim astonishment. If anyone can offer me a better explanation for the intense evil in this world I’m all ears.

Now the question is, why does God permit free creatures such as man and Satan to make such a disastrous mess of this world? There are as I see it, a few reasons.


God will not force the Hand of Free Creatures

In order for free creatures to remain free they must be permitted the ability to choose good or evil. The Bible indicates that God will not coerce man to do the right thing; he is expected to do that of his own mind, according to his natural revelation of morality, afford him by God. When you speak with unbelievers a question they always ask is why God didn’t simply create people who would always choose the good, thus avoiding evil? It’s funny because these are the same people who reject God partly because they don’t want to be told what to do. They want their freedom but they also want God to force their decision making. You can’t have both and God as described in the scriptures chooses to allow us freewill. He chooses to allow us our independence.

Additionally, is there any guarantee that people would appreciate God micromanaging their every decision if He did choose to intervene more in human affairs? Seeing as God more or less leaves people be now, and still they curse Him, I’d say probably not. Some people look at the horrors in Darfur or other such places and conclude God cannot exist because He would have intervened in those situations to bring an end to the suffering if He did. But what if God has good reasons for permitting that? What If God--having left man in charge of those affairs--has decided that it is our responsibility to clean up that mess? There’s simply no excuse in a world where 50% of its wealth belongs to 1% of its people that anybody should starve or suffer. The fact is that we actually could enjoy God’s intervention if we only got our act together, meaning that God would heed our cries if we stopped killing and plundering our neighbours. This isn’t neuroscience. If man were receptive to Christ there would be no pain in this world, but as it is, he chooses by his own freewill to ignore the call to repentance, and God isn’t about to coerce him otherwise.

In Suffering There is Triumph

I expect this is going to be difficult for anyone who suffers to understand, but it is a biblical concept. God, through suffering, often brings about the miraculous. God can make a way where there is no way, and those ways are sometimes accomplished through suffering. Take Paul the apostle for instance. Paul was undeniably the greatest man, besides Christ, to ever walk this earth. We have most of the New Testament because of Paul, and the gospel flourished, spreading far and wide because of his preaching. And yet, nobody I’ve ever learned of suffered more pain, distress, and sheer agony than did Paul. Most of his adult life was spent in prisons, living conditions of which by today’s standards would be absolutely inhumane. He was scourged 195 times in total for preaching the gospel; he was beaten with stones; he was starved; he was shipwrecked; he suffered from a severe physical ailment; and in the end he was executed for his faith. Paul’s life was nothing but a tilt-a-whirl of pain, yet so much good, so much happiness resulted from this one man’s suffering.
An ever greater example of this however resides in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even Paul’s suffering couldn’t match that of Jesus. The immense sufferings of Christ was for a purpose: to bring salvation and hope to mankind. As Isaiah 53 says:

“He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.”

A good indescribable was achieved through the sufferings of Jesus, and Christ’s pain epitomizes God’s method of bringing about happiness through suffering.

There is an interesting concept of this depicted in the movie “ Sliding Doors” starring Gwyneth Paltrow. In the film a young woman is racing to catch a tube car on a departing train. The film then breaks off and begins to show two alternate futures for the young lady. In one reality she makes the train, and ends up living a life of relative joy, peace, comfort, and success. In the other reality, a young child steps in front of her, just briefly, and she misses the train by a nanosecond, gets mugged, and her life thereafter is mired with distress, unhappiness, and suffering. These two scenarios are played out throughout the film in tandem, and at the end of the film, we find out what became of her in both realities. In the scenario where her life is filled with comfort and joy, she ends up dying suddenly in a car accident at a young age. In the scenario where she suffers much pain, she ends up finally finding joy and happiness in the arms of caring suitor. In her suffering, eventually lasting joy was finally hers. Sometimes, the road best travelled is the one with the greatest suffering in order that an ultimate good may be achieved.

What too often escapes us is that we learn from our pain. Pain is a schoolmaster. Pain instructs us in such things like patience, endurance, appreciation, and perseverance; and much of what constitutes good character is shaped through our pain. Comfort teaches nothing. Think of all of our detrimental attributes: greed, selfishness, apathy, laziness, inappreciation, etc; comfort can be and often are a source for our worst traits. Just take our young people for instance. They are endowed with more comfort then anyone in previous generations, yet most of them have the worst of character. Why was Paul such a wonderful godly individual? Largely because he suffered so much. He learned through his pain, and the wisdom he brings to us in the New Testament is the product of his tribulations. The apostle James tells those loving God who have to suffer that:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:3-4

Mother Teresa, who is perhaps the greatest contemporary example of what a human being ought to be, gave up a life of potential ease, leaving the comfortable trappings of the covenant in order to live in poverty so as to suffer for the benefits of the orphans she saved. She wrote this in her diary during her first year of her ministry:

“Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order] came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.”

“ I learned a good lesson”--truer words were never spoken. Only through her own wilful suffering could she have ever understood the sufferings of these children--something often exalted billionaire humanitarians like Buffet and Gates know nothing of. She gave up everything she had, her entire life--all of her personal hopes and dreams--to give herself for these children. Mother Teresa also said something truly astonishing and biblical, which will bring us to our final point:

"A beautiful death is for people who lived like animals to die like angels—loved and wanted”.

To die like angels. The Bible has some awfully wonderful news for people who suffer. There is a recurring theme in the Bible concerning people who experience terrible pain in this life, in that the next life will be different. Let us, for example, take notice of Luke 16, the famous story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, told by Jesus. We have a rich man and a homeless beggar. The beggar sits precariously outside of the gates of the rich man day after day, mired in hopeless misery--hungry, cold, and in incredible pain. This rich man, living in complete luxury, offers him not so much as a scrap off his table. Then eventually, both of them die, and the beggar is immediately carried off into paradise while the rich man descends into hades. There, the rich man begs Abraham for a drop of water to cool his burning tongue, and Abraham responds with this:

“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.” Luke 16: 25

What was the ordinary course of matters in the previous life--the suffering of the beggar and the comfort of the rich man--is in the next life completely reversed. Now you have the beggar enjoying bliss while the rich man suffers misery. You’ll notice that the scriptures makes no mention of the beggar’s beliefs about God--it simply says that he suffered horribly. I’m not certain if it really makes a difference, bit it is a reasonable assumption that the beggar believed in God because people who really suffer usually do--it‘s the people who only experience a minimal degree of pain that usually don‘t. But this reversal of fortune--that whosoever suffers here in this life will be rewarded in heaven--is riddled throughout the scripture. In Matthew 5:3-4 Jesus says:

“ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

It couldn’t be clearer: those who mourn here; those who have been hurt, wronged, mistreated, abused, and neglected will eventually enjoy everlasting comfort. If you are hurting, distraught, and feel hopeless, God implores you to hang on as best that you can because He intends to heals all those wounds, restore all of that joy, and give to you eternal bliss. Blame your oppressors and abusers, but do not blame your Creator. If you trust Him; if you try to live a righteous life and not be overpowered by anger and bitterness which leads to evil and immorality, He promises a place for you with Him where no pain exists, only happiness.

It can be very easy for those who suffer to do evil simply because they seek revenge for their hurt. Some think it will bring satisfaction to make another suffer as they have, especially their wrongdoers. God’s promises for relief in the life hereafter will not apply to such people because the Bible says we cannot repay evil for evil ( Romans 12:17). We must let God deal with our enemies and abusers because He has promised to do so. It matters not whether you’re suffering or whether you’re prospering--evildoers will be punished say the scriptures. As it says in Romans 12:19, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but [rather] give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.” Keep something in mind: all of history’s monsters--Stalin, Hitler, Vlad the Impaler--have been rewarded in full by God and have received their comeuppance . One can use their imagination to discern exactly what that means.

We also cannot use suffering as an excuse for immorality. We’re not entitled to become alcoholics, drug abusers, promiscuous, greedy, nasty, or selfish just because we suffer. God’s promises apply to those who suffer in righteousness, and those who do good even in their pain will be rewarded. This is why Jesus said we should love our enemies and turn the other cheek. In fact, not only will doing evil in the midst of your pain disqualify one for receiving God’s promises, but it will only increase the pain because all sin--from lying to murder--has consequences.

In the Book of Psalms, this remarkable promise is given by God:

“For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.” -- Psalm 9:18

We forget the needy. We neglect the needy when they have no one else to turn to. Society at large sweeps them under the carpet to be forgotten, but their Creator hasn’t forgotten them, and promises them that this suffering is temporary, that a time is coming when their hopes and expectations of escape from the conditions of living in dreadful poverty will be no more, just as it was for Lazarus. Their angels are ready and waiting to relieve them of their misery when it is their time.

Too many scriptures speak of this, far too many to examine here, but the point is well taken, or least it ought to be: If you are suffering while loving God and loving your neighbour, and especially if your faith and trust is in the person of Jesus Christ, the time is coming soon when He is going to wipe away all those tears and heal all those wounds. This is the hope you have; this is the promise you have. This is what as a Christian I would tell anyone who is experiencing unbearable agony-- whether through the natural but unfortunate circumstances of living in a fallen world, or the violence that Satan inflicts upon man, or because of the terrible choices of those who have hurt them--who sees no escape and harbours little hope. Pain is more tolerable when there is hope, and God is that hope.

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