Is God the author of suffering?
"Is God the author of suffering?"
This question is way bigger than a few paragraphs in a daily devotional can answer!
But here are the essential points...
- God is Sovereign - this means that nothing happens without His permission.
- God has given us freedom - which means that He has made space for us to do things that He may not like. Freedom also means that we can experience its consequences.
- Our own sinfulness is the source of temptation and our succumbing to temptation (which is what sin is) is the author of suffering.
- This must be understood in general and specific terms: If I choose to sin by drinking too much - I may destroy my liver. But I may also kill someone else if I chose to drive 'under the influence.' Sometimes the sin of humankind in general affects us too: Our pollution of the environment means holes in the ozone layer and may mean that I suffer from skin cancer. Suffering is caused by sin: sometimes my own sin, sometimes the sin of others, and sometimes the sin of humankind.
- God does not send suffering. It is a consequence of our abuse of the freedom He gave us - but He does limit it. He will, as we saw two days ago, prevent us from being over-stretched, and He will intervene to help us when we are overwhelmed.
| When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James1:13-17) |
