Is God evil?
Of course not. Well…most would agree that He’s not.
But does God allow evil things to happen?
Take a peek into a conversation that Job had with his wife:
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)
Did God cause this evil to happen to Job? No. The verses prior say
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores… (Job 2:7-8)
We are quick to praise God for the good things that happen to us, and give Him credit for all of the blessings we receive.
But aren’t we also quick to shake our fists at God when things don’t go as we would like? When we don’t get that promotion. When we get sick. When our children get sick. When our marriage isn’t what we want it to be. When all of our efforts fall flat. When we strive with all of our might, yet get nowhere.
I don’t presume to know why God does what He does.
But this passage says that God allows evil things to happen. And if you read through the first few chapters of the book of Job, you get some insight into how God worked, and how He allowed Satan to work on a short leash. God didn’t cause evil. But He allowed it with a purpose.
So if God allows evil to exist, does that make Him evil? That’s a question you need to wrestle through yourself. I’ve wrestled through it. Last week, I was sick. Not deathly sick. But sick enough to stay home from work. I felt rotten. I had some sort of mild case of the flu, mixed with an ear infection, an eye infection, a sore throat, a sinuses that were trashed. I also lost my voice.
And last week was one of the most important weeks for me in my job at Grace. I needed my voice. And I needed to be at 100%.
So why would God allow me to be sick? Here are a couple of reasons I came up with. For purpose of generalization, I’ll call it “suffering.” Some of you may laugh at this being called suffering, and honestly, I would, too, but suffering has varying ranges. Bear with me.
A Non-exhaustive list of reasons God allows suffering
1. Suffering slows us down. Our lives race on at such a fast pace that sometimes we just need to slow down.
2. Suffering causes us to think less of this life on earth and long for a better life. When you’re going through suffering, life on earth isn’t as much fun. We don’t value it as much as when everything is rosy. We long for something better.
3. Suffering gives us time to reflect and evaluate. What does your relationship with God look like when you’re falling apart physically? Do you only praise God when everything is perfect? Job was a great example of a man who praised God in the good times and in the bad. (Job 1:20-22)
4. Suffering puts the most important things in perspective. When we are going through suffering, perishable things don’t matter as much. We tend to devalue those things that are temporary.
5. Suffering allows us to be comforted by others. If you never suffer, you can never receive the blessing of being encouraged and comforted by others.
6. Suffering reminds us we’re not in control. When everything is going our way, we can slide into the thought process that we’re really controlling our future. Suffering brings us back to the reality that we really have very little control.
7. Suffering allows us to be healed. God is the ultimate healer, and we would never get to see that aspect of God, and receive that great blessing, if it weren’t for suffering.
8. Suffering, and recovering, helps us to comfort those whom we will come in contact with who suffer similarly. Although suffering tends to make us quite self-centered, I believe one of it’s main purposes is so that, after God (and others) comforts us, we can extend that same love and care to others. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
9. Suffering gives us the chance to see who our real friends are. Job had some pretty rotten friends (Job 4-25, 32). Those who truly love us will stick by in good times and in bad. And ultimately they want what’s best for us.
10. …
What would you add?
