Why does GOD Allow People to Suffer?

As most of you are aware they way we get to know one another is by getting to know his or her ‘story’. Which is what we (my co-workers and I) do during the duration of work. We discuss anything and everything while working; from how long we slept last night; to what kind of music we each listen too; to family and friends.

Last night was a little different we discussed a topics slightly more serious death, angels and ghosts. A strange topic to be discussed during work if you ask me! However, it got us through the night. One question that was posed was “why do we suffer on Earth?” This caught me by surprise; okay my heart skipped a beat, maybe two. I wasn’t sure on how to approach this topic so I just explained what I believed.

As the night progressed I continued to think about the question. For those who know me well enough know that I analyse everything possible. This is what I came up with:

Why does God Allow People to Suffer? The question of why God allows people to suffer is an age-old question for those who believe in him. Why does He put his followers through tests of faith and continue to let them suffer with what seems of no relief in sight? The Bible tells us in Revelations 21:4 that there is coming a time when sorrow, tears, pain, and death will pass away. There will be this day when God will wipe away all tears from the eyes of His children, and their sorrow will end forever. However, at the present time, humans must face the undeniable fact that people do suffer. It’s a fact of life. Sickness, sorrow and suffering are in all walks of life. At this very moment a person can probably think of a handful of others who are suffering greatly. It just doesn’t seem fair. What might possibly be the method to His madness? One can never know for certain until death when they encounter their creator, or possibly when they don’t. But until then, there is always speculation.

According to the Bible, when God created man everything was perfect. There was no pain or suffering that came upon Adam and Eve. Only when they disobeyed God did Adam have to work hard to grow food and Eve has to feel labour pains during birth (Genesis 2-3). It is here that the investigating shall begin. In Genesis 3:14-19, God informs Adam and Eve the consequences of their decision to disobey Him. He says, in short, that they would now experience sorrow and death as the price of disobeying Him. This fall is the reason why people born into the Christian faith receive Baptism, with hopes to purify a child, or in some cases themselves, from this original fall, or sin, and start anew with God. It is the Christian belief that humans are all born with a sin nature and that we inherited it from Adam and Eve.

Romans 5:12 states this belief saying, “Therefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Again in Romans it says that all have sinned and come short to the glory of God (3:23). Using these passages one can use the Christian logic to come up with the answer- we suffer because we are sinners by nature. But what is the point of this suffering? If man is sinful by nature, then something must be wrong in the design, right? Well, perhaps this suffering occurs because God is trying to show man that something is wrong. If there is a child who has a consistent bad habit, will not the child’s parent continually punish him until he learns not to do the habit anymore? Something must be wrong because if there was not, then there would be no suffering or death as was in the Garden of Eden right after man’s creation, according to the Bible. Perhaps God is being a parent, or Father as Jesus put it, and giving man a swift slap on the rear in order to help teach him not to do what he did again.

Another such reason for suffering might be to help direct one of His flock back to the faith. There have been countless tragedies where people turned back to God because they feared Him. Just recently after the World Trade Centre tragedy, churches and temples across the nation were filled to capacity—and not just for funerals. People turned back to God out of fear and turned to Him for answers so that He might be able to help them. When things are going good, few people turn to God and say thank you. Would the leper in Matthew 8:2 go see Jesus if he was fine and dandy? What about the blind man in Luke 18:35? Would he have had such strong faith in God’s word if he were able to see like his peers? Only when they fear or are in a time of help do they turn to their creator. It is these examples from the Bible as well as observations in the current world that help prove this.

God may sacrifice a few who have served their main purpose in life and are ready to met Him for the benefit of others so that they may also be able to look Him in the face. Another reason why people suffer could be because they choose to follow God and may or may not have chosen to believe in Jesus Christ a prime example is the Jews who suffered in the Holocaust, and countless other times, for their religion. While there were other reasons than just being Jewish for the Holocaust, it was the religion that became the ‘bull’s eye’ upon their backs. Yet, the Jews did not abandon their faith. Their Strong faith saw them through their trails. But why would God allow such pain for His followers? “Blessed are you who when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of things against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11). It is said in the Bible that these people will be the first God looks upon in His kingdom, so He does not forget about them entirely. He makes up in heaven for their sufferings here.

What about those who are not disobedient followers of God? There are countless of faithful Christians who suffer every day, yet may be the sweetest saints one can meet? Why is it that all the bad things happen to the good people while the wicked get away ‘scott free’? One reason could be to a make them stronger. The Apostle Paul, who had a strong faith in God and didn’t live a sinful life, writes in his letters that he too suffered. Why would he have to if he followed God with all his heart? He say in 2 Corinthians 12:7, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” Reading further, he begged the God to remove the thorn and God refused, but gave him His grace to endure it.

Sometimes God might see the need to push someone a bit to help them develop more or to toughen them up so that they can go on and be adept at dealing with problems and situations that might be coming in the future (things happen for a reason – read below). There is a song that goes “onward Christian soldiers.” Using that analogy, perhaps God allows some things to happen to good people so that they will be become tougher and able to handle more than they were able to before. He is the drill sergeant for His soldiers, getting them through the boot camp that is life.

Another reason for the suffering of good people might be to teach patience. With Job, God allowed the Devil to his animals, servants, children, and health. Yet, Job was still the good follower and did not go against his God. Because of this, God gave back everything and then some back to Job (Job 42:10-17). Good things come to those who wait, and perhaps when one sees the reward, it was worth the wait. This would teach the follower, along with others who witnessed it, not to question God’s ways, as one never knows what the reason is behind them.

All the suggested reasons for why God allows suffering can be seen in the Bible and by just looking around and watching people in the world today. Whether or not they are accurate one can never know unless described by God Himself, and that is highly unlikely. Man will continue to search for a concrete answer as to why God, if He ‘truly loves His creation’, allows it to experience pain and suffering while they cry out to Him. Perhaps if man knew the reason why, he would abuse it and manipulate it to his advantage. Perhaps man’s mind is not able to fully understand why and the meaning behind it. And, perhaps sometimes some things are meant to be unknown.