It should come as no surprise to anyone that there is much suffering in the world today. Just watch the evening news and this fact will become abundantly clear. Natural disasters ravage coastlines and flatlands. Diseases sweep across third-world countries, killing thousands, sometimes millions. Many people live in areas of violence and war, and they have to watch as friends and neighbors are gunned down. In addition to these extreme forms of collective suffering, there are also the hardships that we all deal with from day to day: sickness, loss of employment, the deaths of those dearest to us, car wrecks, and the list goes on. Needless to say, life is not always easy, and for some it is harder than others. The question is not, "is there suffering?" Certainly, there is! Instead we ought to ask, "what causes suffering?"
Many conclude that suffering is the result of one's personal sinfulness. In other words, if something terrible has happened to a particular person, it must be that they have offended God. Lule 13:1-3 says, "There were some present at that very time who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." We find a similar story in John 9:1-3. It says, "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" In both stories, it was assumed that the individuals were suffering because of their own sin, and in both stories, Jesus emphasized the error of such an assumption. Just because something terrible has happened to a person or group of people doesn't automatically mean that God is judging them because of some sin(s) they have committed.
The assumption of the Jews in the previous two stories was also the assumption of Job's three friends. Remember, God allowed Satan to afflict Job...not because Job had sinned but to test His faith in God. Job lost everything: his wealth, his servants and even his children (Job 1:13-22). Then, to top it all off, Job was afflicted with painful boils (Job 2:7-8). Job was not being punished by God, but that's exactly what his friends thought. In Job 4:7-8, Eliphaz said to his suffering friend, "Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same." While this is the assumption of many today, the book of Job tells us that this is not always the case. Ecclesiastes 9:11 sums it up well: "time and chance happen to them all."
While suffering is not necessarily the result of the sinfulness of a person or community, it is also true that all suffering is the result of sin. There was no suffering the garden of Eden. They didn't have to deal with physical death, sickness or violence of any sort. It wasn't until they sinned that physical death and suffering entered the world. The woman was cursed with painful labor and childbearing (Gen. 3:16) and the man was cursed with physical toil and sweat (vv. 17). Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned."
Sin leads to suffering. Think about it. When people are sexually immoral, venereal diseases result. When people are cruel and violent towards one another, the result is pain and death. When people are greedy and power-hungry, the result is oppression, theft and persecution. We also know that God sometimes punishes us in this life when we sin against Him (Heb. 12:9-11). So clearly, suffering is the result of sin.
Earlier in the article, the point was made that suffering is not always the result of sin, but now we have made the point that all suffering is the result of sin. At first glance, this may appear to be a contradiction, but it is not. Generally speaking, all the suffering in teh world is the result of sin. Because of sin, hardship exists. But at the same time, we cannot assume that every particular hardship is the direct result of something that person or community has done. It may be because someone else has sinned, or the suffering may be the result of chance. In Job's case, he suffered because God was allowing his faith to be tested. In the case of the blind man in John 9, he suffered so that God's power might be manifested. You see, there are MANY causes of suffering, and while they all are rooted in the sinfulness of man, we cannot assume that when someone suffers it is because they are being punished.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans many years ago, it was often asserted that God was punishing the sinful city. Perhaps, but perhaps not. We do not know. When the earthquakes hit China two years ago, it was once again assumed that God was punishing the paganism and communism of the Chinese. Perhaps, but perhaps not. We ought not think that we know exactly why every hardship is happening. Instead, we ought to heed the words of Jesus in LUke 13:3, "No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Let us use periods of hardship to examine ourselves, and when others are suffering, let us use the opportunity to help, not condemn them.
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