If you know anything about what’s been going on around the world over the past couple of months, it seems our planet is unraveling at the seams. The chaos in Ferguson, Missouri is just now calming down after weeks of unrest. For several weeks now, tensions in the Middle East have been escalated even above the norm due to bombing coming into and going out from Israel and the gruesome activity of the terrorist organization, ISIS. In the Great Northwest wildfires have been burning all summer, destroying homes and businesses. I could go on, but just watch the news or search online for the top news stories of the summer and you’ll see the sad state we’re in.
This leads us to an obvious question: Where is God in all of this?
And the bigger, more over-arching question is: Why is there evil and suffering in the world?
Christians believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God, right?
So why all the pain?
Why all the hate?
Why all the suffering and sickness?
Why?
Can God Stop Evil & Suffering?
My short answer to this is, “Yes.” Obviously, this is the biased Christian answer, but I am a Christian, so what did you expect? But seriously, here are a few verses from the Bible that seem to support that idea:
Gen. 1:1 – God created everything. It seems to reason He has power over His creation
Ps 103:19 – God’s kingdom rules over all
Daniel 4:35 – God does as He pleases and no one can stop Him
Romans 11:36 – All things are from Him and through Him
1 Cor 15:27 – All things are under God’s subjection and under His feet
Eph 1:11 – God accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will
Even if you agree with that, we still haven’t answered, “Why doesn’t God stop evil & suffering?” I want to take a few minutes to attempt to tackle this beast of a topic.
Why is there evil & suffering?
1. Let’s Be Fair
This conversation is about God – NOT religion. There are many who want to confuse this issue about God’s involvement in the world with the evils of organized religion. These are two different topics. Have there been and are there sometimes problems with organized religion? Absolutely! But, God is above religion, so let’s not muddy the waters by trivializing the real issue at hand.
2. Suffering & Evil Don’t Discriminate
Life happens. I don’t say this to be insensitive, but to state the obvious. Jesus said, “It rains on the just and the unjust”. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people. It just happens. To everyone. Regardless of gender, race, location, socioeconomic status, or religious affiliation. Atheists suffer. Buddhists suffer. Muslims suffer. Christians suffer. God doesn’t let some suffer and spare others. Some may suffer more than others or suffer in different ways than others, but being human and suffering is universal.
3. When It Comes to Evil, We’re Not Off the Hook
There’s an old saying: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” I’m not trying to make a political statement, and you may not agree with that saying, but you probably understand the point the saying is trying to make. With evil, it’s the same way. Let’s not blame God, but instead we should point the finger at ourselves. Humans are largely, directly responsible for evil in the world. People hurt other people. People cause other people to suffer.
Here’s why I say that…
People have a will. They have a free will. God created us that way. God allows us to choose what we do and say.
People choose to be kind or harsh.
People choose to react out of anger or to forgive.
People choose to be fair or to cheat others to get ahead.
People choose to take good advice or do something stupid and harmful because they feel like it.
People choose. And God lets them.
Now, why would God do this? Especially if He knew it could cause such hurt and pain?
It’s really all about love.
We were created to love God and have a relationship with God.
Can you force someone to love you?
No. Love is not forced. Love is not coerced. Love cannot be bought. Love requires a choice. True love requires the ability to choose.
So if God created us without free will, without the ability to choose, we could not choose to love God. We could not really love God. And honestly, He would not then truly love us either. God loves us enough to let us choose, even if our choices are bad ones. And as history clearly shows us, it’s the choices of humans that unfortunately cause so much pain, harm, and suffering in the world. Fortunately, God’s love is greater than anything we face, but that’s coming in “Where In The World Is God? (Pt. 2)” in a few days.
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Agree? Disagree? Have your own view or opinion? Tweet me @pastor_stw and let me know.
Stay tuned for “Where In The World Is God? (Pt. 2)” coming soon…