Tag: Suffering

Why the Innocent Suffer

Years ago, I officiated at a wedding in the St. James Meeting House in Boardman, Ohio. I have officiated at many weddings in Boardman Park through the years. They call me because they want a minister, but don’t have a church. On Friday night, I showed up for the rehearsal. Everyone was excited and in a good mood. At the conclusion of the rehearsal, the bride invited me to the rehearsal dinner. My wife Kathryn was out of town, so I decided to go. I planned on dining and dashing. I had other things I needed to do. This is the truth – when I walked into the restaurant, everyone ignored me. Some people are uncomfortable talking to a minister. (I think it is because I am too handsome.) I was relieved when the groom’s father walked up to me and asked me to sit with his family.

His name was Jeff, and he was simply a good guy. I just met him that evening, but I felt like we had known each other for years. Somewhere in our discussion, he confessed that the next day was not only his son’s wedding day, but his anniversary. I asked him the appropriate questions. “How long have you been married?” And “Where were you married?” He gave me an educated guess on the number of years, and he wasn’t sure of the location. I responded, “You don’t know where you were married?” He tried to explain his ignorance by telling me he was an atheist. I said, “You don’t believe there is a God? Jeff said, “No!” I asked, “Have you always been an atheist?” “No! I used to believe in the existence of God but stopped believing because of all the suffering in the world. Why would a loving God permit innocent people to suffer?” I found his honesty to be refreshing. Do you know of anyone, like Jeff, who doesn’t believe there is a God because of all the suffering? Do you know of anyone who is mad at God because of all the suffering in the world? I will be honest with you, all the suffering in our world upsets me.

Someone once asked British novelist and lay theologian C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), “Why do the righteous suffer?” “Why not?” he replied. “They’re the only ones who can take it.” Unless you are living in a coma, you know we have a surplus of suffering in our world. Suffering does not discriminate. It is universal; no one escapes. It is found in both the east and the west. It is found among the young and the not so young. Both men and women experience suffering. Both the wealthy and the poor suffer. It is found among the educated and the uneducated, the ambitious and the not so ambitious. Suffering is found among both believers and non-believers. No one escapes; everyone suffers at one time or another.

Suffering comes from a variety of ways. Sometimes suffering is caused by natural disasters. It takes the form of a tornado, tsunami, or wildfire. Sometimes suffering is caused by poor personal decisions. You decide to smoke and ignore all the research. You sign your name on the line too many times and find yourself hopelessly in debt. You decide to drink and drive. Sometimes suffering is caused by violence. My local news is filled with violent crimes daily. The international news is filled with violence. For example, there are thirty-two wars in our world at this moment, causing countless innocent people to suffer. Sometimes suffering is caused by disease. Our world seems to be filled with various diseases and conditions. How many people do you know are dealing with cancer? Sometimes suffering is caused by mental or emotional issues. How many people do you know take medication to find that perfect balance? How many people do you know see a professional counselor regularly? Sometimes suffering is spiritual. Did you know death is the most common fear in America. Over 20% of Americans are afraid to die. This list is not complete. Our world is filled with suffering. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) once wrote, “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find the meaning in the suffering.”  This leads us to our scripture reading.

Our reading is Job 1:13-22. You know the story; everybody knows the story. Job was a man who was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil (1:1). He had everything in this world a man could desire. He was wealthy and his family had no obvious problems. The best part was that God, Himself, was proud of him. One day Satan comes before God and admits he has been roaming the world. He must have experienced many people in the world, but none could measure up to Job.  God highlights Job for his excellence, but Satan is not impressed. Cynical to the core, he questions Job’s behavior. Why not worship God if you have everything? Satan believes Job will change his tune once some hardship enters his perfect life. God grants Satan permission to test Job’s faith. Over a period, Job loses everything—his wealth, family, and health. So, to speak, he goes from the penthouse to the outhouse. He loses everything this world has to offer, but his faith remains intact. In the end, Job passes the test. Job does not stand alone.

The Bible is filled with many people who experienced suffering firsthand. The Bible doesn’t tell us about people who God protected from hardship and suffering; the Bible tells us about people who clung to the faith despite their suffering. How many examples do you need? The son of Jacob, Joseph, the well-built handsome young man, was sold into slavery. The Israelites spent 400 years enslaved by the Egyptians. Moses led them to freedom, but they suffered along the way. The wilderness was hard. King Saul spent many years trying to kill the young David. The entire book of Lamentations was written after Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and God’s Chosen People were exiled. In the New Testament, only one of the original disciples, John, died of natural causes. The rest were martyred. Even John suffered on the island of Patmos, where he had a series of visions, we call Revelation. The Apostle Paul didn’t fare much better. The scriptures tell us he was shipwrecked, beaten, flogged, exposed to the elements, and left for dead. Even Jesus knew suffering. He was beaten and bruised before being nailed to the cross. The Bible is filled with people who have experienced suffering firsthand. People who get mad at God about the suffering, like Jeff, simply don’t read the Bible.

Suffering is even found in church history. One of the most historic creeds within the church is the Nicene Creed. It was accepted in the year 325 in present-day Turkey, near present-day Istanbul. 318 delegates attended the Nicene Council. It was reported that fewer than 12 had not lost an eye or lost a hand or did not limp on a leg lamed by torture for their Christian faith. Their story is not unique. Throughout Christian history, across all traditions of Christianity, and in every part of the world, some 70 million Christians have been murdered for their faith and hence called martyrs. Suffering is part of the Christian faith. Why do you think you should be excused? Suffering is a part of discipleship.

When I was in seminary, I took a class on theodicy. What is theodicy? It is the combination of two Greek words, the word for God and the word for justice. The entire course was built on the question for today, why do the innocent suffer? The professor told us we needed a strong theology of suffering if we were going to survive in the ministry. He was right. In the ministry, I worked with many good people who suffered regularly. In that class, we were required to develop our own theology of suffering. This is my theology of suffering in a nutshell.

It is grounded in the book of Job. We may live in God’s creation, and it is a great place. Nature, all four seasons, testify to God’s greatness. The world is a great place to spend 100 years! However, while we may live in God’s creation, we also live in Satan’s playground. Our world is not always a pretty place; our world can be downright ugly. The source of all that ugliness is Satan, himself. He attacks us in many ways. There is suffering from natural disasters. He attacks us with the consequences from poor decision making, disease, violence, mental, emotional spiritual issues, and the rest. Every day, we play the part of the Old Testament character, Job. Satan places suffering into our lives because Satan wants us to denounce our faith. However, we won’t do it because we are disciples of Jesus Christ! We know this world is not the main event; it is only the warm-up act. Someday, we are going to heaven! There is no suffering in heaven, only perfection. American theologian and apologist Timothy Keller (1950-2023) once said, “Suffering can define us rather than destroy because God himself walks with us in the fire.”

Is God in Charge?

We find ourselves in the eighth chapter of Acts, verses two through four. These few verses are challenging for anyone who assumes God will eliminate life’s hardship. It does not matter how you turn this story; you find pain and suffering. Listen to what I am about to say. It makes the story harder to accept. The people who are experiencing the pain and the suffering did nothing wrong. Stephen did nothing wrong. He was doing what he was told. He was telling the world about Jesus and for his evangelistic efforts he was killed.  The members of the early church did nothing wrong yet verse three tells us they were imprisoned for their faith. Pain and suffering have been part of the church from the very beginning. There is no shortage of pain and suffering in our world today. And with the pain and the suffering comes the question, is God in charge? In this blog, I want to unpack that loaded question.

When I was in seminary a professor challenged us to develop a theology of suffering. On that day, I did not know the importance of that assignment. It was just one more requirement. However, I learned about the importance of that assignment in my forty years in the ministry. Through the decades, I sat with countless people, who withstood great suffering and hardship. They were good people who did nothing wrong. No one expected me to solve their problems, but everyone expected be to care. In every case, I would explain my theology of suffering. It is two-fold.

First, the origin of life’s hardships is Satan, not God. I believe you should learn something new every day. Do you know what I learned the other day? I learned that the Vikings did not wear horns on their helmets. That is a misconception. The origin of that misconception comes from the ancient Christians in southern Europe who feared the northern Europeans. The southern Europeans portrayed the northern Europeans in art with horns on their helmets to alien them with Satan, who is symbolized by a horned goat. Like, Jesus is symbolized by a lamb. That means the helmets of the Minnesota Vikings wrong. Many have accepted that misconception about Vikings wearing horns in their helmets. I did!

That is not the only misconception in history. Maybe you have accepted one of these?

  1. Ben Franklin did not discover electricity. (He was simply trying to prove the electric nature of lightning)
  2. The Great Wall of China cannot be seen from the moon.
  3. Marie Antoinette did not say, “Let them eat cake.”
  4. Witches were not burned at the Salem Witch Trials. (However, 20 women were hanged.)
  5. Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned. (He was 30 miles away when the fire broke out.)
  6. Lady Godiva never rode her horse in the nude.

How many of those misconceptions have you accepted? Our world is filled with misconceptions. This is one more.

Do you know of anyone who has accepted the misconception God creates hardship and suffering to draw us near to him. That simply is not the case. God uses hardships but God does not create the suffering. The true origin of all pain and suffering in our world is Satan. God may have created the world, but it is Satan who brings hardship and suffering to the world. That is why Job’s story still speaks to our world. Everyday Satan did horrible things to him, so Job would denounce his faith. Every day Satan does horrible things to us, so we will denounce our faith. However, we won’t do it because the foundation of our lives is God! Yet, it is painfully clear. We are living in Satan’s playground and with every horrible story there is another Satan sighting. With every story we shake our heads and wonder why? It is vital to your faith that you reject the misconception that God creates hardship and suffering. The origin of all suffering and hardship is Satan. We must confess our ignorance when it comes to the origin of hardship and suffering. The origin of life’s hardships is Satan.

Second, our emotions blind us to divine outcome. In 2013, the Colonial Hills Baptist Church of Indianapolis suffered a great tragedy. They had sent their youth to a church camp in northern Michigan. It was a successful time away and everyone was excited about returning home. Everyone must have been thrilled the 365-mile trip home was nearly complete. Then, tragedy struck. One mile from the church the bus’s brakes failed. The bus slammed into a wall and overturned. There were 37 people on the bus. Dozens were injured. Three were killed, including the youth pastor, his pregnant wife, and a chaperone. The youth minister was the senior pastor’s son. The parents who had assembled at the church to pick up their children were shocked. Their happy reunion was replaced with sadness. Does that story make you wonder? That story makes me wonder.

We must confess our emotions blind us to the divine outcome. That story has stuck with me through the years. It fills me with questions. How do you worship after such a horrible accident? How do you sing songs of praise after such a horrible accident? How does the minister stand up and preach after such a horrible accident? He did not just lose a member of his staff. He lost his son. He lost a daughter-in-law. He lost an unknown yet loved grandchild. How does a mother move forward after losing a child? Just like in the scripture lesson, they were doing nothing wrong, yet they were suffering.

Emotions are funny things. They can propel us to the mountaintop, and they can drag us down to deepest valley. They can sharpen our insights and blind us to the most obvious. Have you ever wished you were more emotional? Have you ever wished you will less emotional? Have you ever hidden your true emotions? Have you ever had to work your way through some emotional experience to experience something new?

The scripture lesson ends with a word of good news. The church is moving outward. This did not happen because the governing body passed a new rule. There was no capital funds drive for new church starts. The grant application was not accepted for some new ministry. The church was moving outward because it was forced to move outward. Because of the persecution, it wasn’t safe to stay in Jerusalem, so they moved to other places taking the Gospel message with them. There is no reason to believe they would have moved without the persecution. Have you ever noticed how God can use Satan’s bad things and produce something good? It happens all the time.

Taryn Davis said she felt lost and isolated after she buried her husband, Michael. He was serving our country in Iraq when he died at the age of 22. Due to her young age, 22, everyone tried to dismiss her grief by saying, “You are young. You can remarry.” People did not know how to treat her, so they left her alone. In her isolation, Taryn did something that brought her both great pain and relief. She contracted the widow of another soldier who was killed with Michael. Their meeting had no real agenda. They simply got together and shared. Then they decided to contact other young military widows and in time they founded the American Widow Project. It is open to any age, but the average age is 25. It has been years since Michael died. She still misses him, but she has found a new family. She has found her purpose. Have you ever noticed how God can use Satan’s bad things and produce something good? How often do our emotions blind us to the final outcome? Helen Keller (1880-1968) once said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.”

One of my favorite stories in the Bible comes from the ninth chapter of Mark. Peter has just identified Jesus as the Christ. It was one of those pivotal moments in the Bible. Things would never be the same again. To underscore the importance of that insight, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain. It is at this moment the story grows strange. Without any warning, Jesus’ appearance suddenly changes. The Bible says he was transfigured. We would describe him as glowing. Suddenly, with this transfigured Jesus and the disciples were with Moses and Elisha. I don’t know how they identified them. (Maybe they were wearing name tags?) Why Moses and Elisha? Through the eyes of the disciples, they were the greatest characters in the Old Testament. Moses was the great law giver. Elisha was the greatest of the prophets. Both were endorsing Jesus. It was one of the greatest moments in the life of the disciples and they don’t want t to end. Peter offers to put up tents for their honored guests. However, the best is yet to come. Suddenly, they are engulfed by a bright cloud and God, himself, begins to speak to them. God says it clearly, “This is my son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” The disciples are overwhelmed by the experience, but it is suddenly over. Do you remember what happens next?

On their way down from the mountaintop they are confronted by a man whose son is demon possessed. The contrast between the two stories is shocking. Isn’t that life? On the mountaintop everything is perfect. There is Moses and Elisha. There is God. In the valley there is imperfection, hardships, and suffering. There is the demon possessed boy. How much imperfection have you witnessed in your life? We may visit the mountaintop occasionally, but we live in the valley. This is the question.

Is God in change? The answer is YES! However, you are never going to see it until you understand two things. First, the origin of suffering is Satan. God created the world, but we live in Satan’s playground. Second, you must confess your own emotions have blinded you to the divine outcome. Mother Teresa (1910-1997) once said, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”