____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ March 30, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Human Suffering -- and Many Reasons Why (Part 3 of 3) by Tom Edwards In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we have considered numerous examples that show why people suffer. Often, it was not because of sin; nor was it something that God Himself was responsible for. These examples were as follows: 1) acts of nature (such as hurricanes), 2) one's own sins, 3) other people's sins, 4) one's own carelessness, 5) other people's carelessness, 6) accidents (even when careful), 7) animal-related accidents, 8) faulty parts, 9) congenital disabilities, 10) having an extremely grotesque appearance, 11) other's cruelty, 12) for the glory of God, 13) demon possession, 14) germs and diseases, 15) rats, 16) lack of hygiene and medical knowledge, contamination, 17) predatory animals and dangerous sea creatures, and 18) physical death. The main purpose for these examples is to stress that the Lord is not always the one responsible for human woes -- nor is suffering always a result of personal sin. Let us now consider a few more reasons why people suffer, and then wrap up this series with some concluding remarks: 19) SPIRITUAL DEATH: How grieved one can be over the "spiritual death" of a loved one. It hurts to see someone you love ruining their life and putting their soul in jeopardy by turning their back on God and following the course of sin. In some cases, they might be sincere and mean well, but have been misled through false teaching, which will cause them to be eternally lost in the Judgment Day. Since John's greatest joy was to hear that his brethren were walking in truth (3 Jn. 1:4), how terribly sad he would probably have been if they were not. The Bible teaches us to "grieve not the Holy Spirit" (Eph. 4:30). This happens when one rejects the Spirit's teachings, and Christians can also experience that kind of grief toward the wayward. The apostle Paul not only suffered physically for the cause of Christ, but he also inwardly bore "the daily pressure...of concern for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, "For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor should be in vain" (1 Thess. 3:5; also cf. Gal. 4:11). How tearfully sad it can be when our loved ones fall away from the Lord. It, too, is another reason for why many people suffer. 20) FOR LIVING A GODLY LIFE: Paul states that "...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). How true this was of so many of the early Christians who lost their homes, had property confiscated (Heb. 10:32-34), and were scattered abroad, due to the persecution inflicted upon them (cf. Acts 8:4). Some of them even lost their lives through martyrdom (Acts 26:10; Matt. 24:9). Was God punishing them? Were they incurring His wrath due to their sins? The verse says it was because of their "godly" life that they would incur this suffering. 21) INSECTS THAT ARE DISEASE-CARRYING OR DEADLY: As we thought recently of suffering brought on by various animals or certain sea creatures, we also are aware of the major sufferings that even some of the smaller creatures can bring -- such as certain ticks that can inflict Lyme Disease, infected mosquitoes that can inject the West Nile Virus, and Black Widow spiders whose bite can be deadly. Who will they bite next? Will the Lord be manipulating them to their next victim? Is God responsible for what these little insects do? 22) DUE TO MISUNDERSTANDINGS: How often has someone suffered emotionally -- and to an extreme degree -- simply because he misunderstood the motives or the intentions, or he just took the wrong way what the other person had said or did. It seems like the only exercise some people get, in quoting one individual, is "Jumping to the wrong conclusions" -- which, at times, can certainly lead to some very painful "landings." For example, some misunderstandings can cause insulting accusations and rejection; and what can hurt more than to be forsaken by those whom we love? How many relationships have been severed due to preconceived ideas, misconceptions, and imputing impure or deceitful motives to the other? Let's keep good lines of communication open -- taking the time to listen carefully to one another, to fully understand the other person's viewpoint, and to make ourselves clear as well -- instead of just assuming and forming wrong conclusions. Part of love's definition that it "believes all things" and "hopes all things" (1 Cor. 13:7) means that it gives the other person the benefit of the doubt (rather than assuming something bad); and even if the fault turns out to be true, love will then hope what is best for that person. This can also be applied to the next thought: 23) NEGATIVE THOUGHTS; BEING SUSPICIOUS: I knew one woman who did not have many friends because after having met some good people, she would soon feel that they were saying all kinds of terrible things about her, behind her back -- and would, thus, end the relationship. She wasn't schizophrenic or paranoid. She just had these negative thoughts that obstructed her associations with others, which must have been troubling for her, at times, and a source of unnecessary suffering. Some people get "haunted" and greatly troubled over just imagining things that are not even so, but they re-act as if they are. It brings distress, anguish, and sorrow into their lives. On an even more serious level, I knew of one couple that had accused each other of marital unfaithfulness. Knowing both of them, I would say that probably neither of them were ever guilty of such. But they separated. Then soon afterwards, the husband put a bullet through his heart, ending his life. If they could have their choice, I imagine many people would prefer hurting physically rather than hurting emotionally. So here is another case in which negative thoughts and suspicion had certainly led to much suffering. 24) MENTAL PROBLEMS: Many people, down through the years, have suffered from various kinds of mental disorders: manic depression (bi-polar disorders), schizophrenia, abulia (loss of will), anxieties, various phobias, nervous breakdowns, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychosis (delusions, hallucinations, losing touch with reality), obsessive-compulsive disorders, insanity, and other mental illnesses. Just as the body can be sick, so can the mind -- though not all mental disorders originate there. Some of them stem from a chemical imbalance; so, in this case, it is a physical malady that induces a psychological illness. But whatever the origin, how troubling any of these sicknesses can be. 25) EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS: Though not to the extreme of clinical depression and the other mental problems mentioned above, being sad, lonely, feeling rejected, broken-hearted, depressed, etc., can also be difficult feelings to deal with. Each of these emotions is suffering in itself, but also they often combine and become intensified. Is the Lord, however, responsible for these negative feelings? 26) LACK OF BIBLE KNOWLEDGE: I have in my filing cabinet an article of a couple whose child died due to their lack of Bible knowledge. They had been misled to believe, by the so-called faith-healer, that they needed to take their child off his much-needed medication; and the Lord would then heal him. Tragically, and with much grief, they soon learned that it wasn't the Lord's will: Their child died. Many Jehovah Witnesses believe that it is sinful to receive a blood transfusion, so they will forego that -- even if it results in death. And what an unnecessary and preventable death that would be! Though one might feel he is showing his faith in God by not taking the blood transfusion, isn't it really showing a lack of Bible knowledge? And is it any worse to knowingly consume a poison that will kill you than to know of something that could cure you, but you die instead because you choose not to take it? How often have people died and the survivors made to suffer, due to a lack of Bible knowledge that would have helped prevent this separation of loved ones? In Hosea 4:6, the Lord states, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...." It, therefore, is another source of suffering. 27) GROWING OLD AND WEARING OUT: Some people seem to stay in good health all their lives, whereas others experience some aches and pains in their old age, along with other infirmities that can lead to some challenges in life. Solomon figuratively writes about this in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. It is just a natural part of growing old for some. 28) GOD CAUSED IT: In the OT, we have examples in which God brought suffering upon people -- and for different reasons. Sometimes it was to chasten them, to correct them, to draw them back to Him (Amos 4:6-11; Hos. 5:15; Psa. 119:67, 71; Deut. 8:5), to make them a better people (Isa. 48:10; Job 23:10); and He did so out of love (Prov. 3:11,12). Sometimes it was a punishment due to their sins that actually resulted in their being put to death (Deut. 28:20-22). As we consider these various reasons for why people suffer -- and you can probably come up with many additional ones, as well -- we note that most of them are not because of God at all. Many times it is because of sin, ignorance, accidents, sicknesses, acts of nature, etc. Why then is the Lord often blamed whenever trials or misfortunes befall someone? I once heard of a case in which a family, driving on a trip, pulled under an overpass during a heavy rainstorm. The mother then got out to stretch her legs. While she was outside of the car, a truck plowed into her vehicle, killing all of her family. From that moment, she started blaming God for what had happened. But was it the Lord who was driving the truck? and maybe the driver of it was not able to see the parked vehicle until it was too late. The weather was bad. Visibility was probably poor. There could be various factors for why that accident took place. So, I hope this woman is no longer blaming God for it -- and let those of us who are Christians pray that that will be so. We should also be able to clearly see that just because certain sufferings occur, they are not an indication that there is no God. Think, for instance, of sufferings that are due to sin. The Lord certainly doesn't want people to sin, but he "lets" these things go on -- no matter how terrible -- for the time being. Those who have abused their freewill, however, by engaging in these iniquities will one day be judged for their deeds (Rev. 20:13), for their "every careless word" (Matt. 12:36) -- and even for the inmost thoughts and intentions of their heart (cf. Matt. 5:28,29; Heb. 4:12,13; 1 Chron. 28:9). So there will eventually be a penalty paid by the transgressor. I once read a humanist magazine that was taunting the believer who mistakenly felt that anytime suffering occurred, it was God who was punishing that individual. The article raised the issue that if that be the case then isn't the believer doing wrong to put up a lightening rod for his home? Years ago, these were common. They protected the home from being struck by lightening and going up in flames. The humanist cited this to ridicule the believer as one who was trying to avert God's chastening by putting up the lightening rod. In other words, if all adversities are the result of God's will to chasten or punish, then we shouldn't try to "interfere." Wouldn't this, though, also include seeing doctors, taking medicines, building flood walls, having fire hydrants and firemen, having police officers for protection, etc.? But even Jesus said, "...'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick" (Matt. 9:12). If God wants to bring adversity into our lives, certainly He will be able to find a way to do that without our hindering Him or somehow obstructing it. As we considered some of the various reasons why people suffer, we can also point out that the Lord, through His divine providence, could even use some of the means that we normally wouldn't think of Him being responsible for. But how can we, with our finite minds, always know when something would be due to God's providence or simply a mere coincidence? We, therefore, do not always know why someone is suffering. Could it be that the Lord is punishing that one or chastening? Yes, it could. But what we have considered in this series of articles shows that there are many other reasons why people suffer, as well, in which the Lord would not be the one responsible; nor would it always be because of one's own sin. So we need to realize that sometimes we just don't know. However, as we saw in one of the articles in the March 9 bulletin, "Blessings in Adversity," God can cause all things (including any suffering, disability, or difficulty) to work together for our good -- if we truly love Him (Rom. 8:28). Concentrating on loving God, by abiding in His word, is what we need to, therefore, do. And, also, as James writes, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray..." (Jms. 5:13); and, in addition, Peter urges the Christian to "...humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Pet. 5:6,7). Let me also say to those who are afflicted with physical or mental disabilities, perhaps the thought that such "just happens" and is not necessarily what God is responsible for, might tend to make those infirmities seem pointless or nothing but a burden to bear, but I appreciate the words of Christopher Reeve who speaks of his own misfortune as having been "...simply an accident." Nevertheless, he goes on to say "...[but] I have the opportunity now to make sense of this accident. I believe that it's what you do after a disaster that can give it meaning" (Still Me by Christopher Reeve, p. 126). And as we saw above, whatever it is that happens to the Christian, God can use that for his or her good, so that even if the Lord did not cause a person to become disabled, for instance, He can still use that for that individual's spiritual development and betterment, thus giving a real purpose and meaning to the infirmity. In conclusion, to the contrary of the thinking of many people, much of the suffering in the world today does not come from God, nor is it always because of personal sin. Human suffering can emanate from various sources. We might not always know the reason for it, but God's word exhorts us to turn to Him and pray during those times (Jms. 5:13). Suffering, of course, can be used even for our good (Rom. 8:28), and just knowing that can help us see a positive purpose in it; but may the Lord help us to overcome whatever suffering we undergo in His own good time, and in His own good way. In the meanwhile, let us each also strive to do what we can in "Bear[ing] one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________