A Short Ramble About Suffering

"Suffering is bad. Why does a good God permit suffering?" This is "the" question for many people that can either make or break their faith. The unspoken part of that question is however, "when it happens to me or those I care about or identify with."

We have this thing in our heads that informs us that those things we like are "good" and those things we don't are "bad" and consequently should be stopped in some way. We cling to those things we call "good" and we push away those things we call "bad." We're afraid of losing those things we call "good" and we're afraid of gaining those things we call "bad." This fear ultimately leads to suffering. Suffering then is a result of whether or not we cling to or push away the things that come into our sphere of interaction or experience.

The reality is that painful or contrary events happen to everyone at some point. Whether those events are "good" or "bad" is heavily dependent on whether we like or dislike them. This is also why, many years after the event, we can look back and label a painful event "good" because the consequences of the event may have produced an outcome we find desirable such as a new outlook on life, new relationships, or a positive direction. In the same way, if the event does not produce a result we consider positive, we continue to label it "bad."

Painful events are a part of being a human being just as much as they are a part of life for any other animal on the planet. Consider the deer which is hunted by the pack of wolves. Consider the lion cubs that are killed by a rival to their father to stimulate their mother's reproductive cycle. Consider the cat or dog that is hit by the car trying to cross a busy street. These too experience painful events for no other reason than this is simply what happens to living beings and trying to isolate yourself from such events is futile, selfish, and useless.

But why does a good God permit painful events at all? God is good, and He permits "life" to happen to us. Those painful events are a part of living, and the only persons that don't experience them are non-living and in the grave. Painful experiences teach us far more than pleasurable ones and they keep our eyes open to the realities of life as opposed to the illusions we tend to create for ourselves. Much of the time it is this disillusionment which causes the most pain to us as those things we fear happening come to pass. A good God could do no less than to permit this to happen for our own good, regardless of the pain it brings.

This does not mean He is without empathy for our pain, He knows it very well and can feel it just as much as we do. He mourns and weeps with us, and is right there with us as we experience it. But He does not always heal the illness. He does not always shrink the tumor. He does not always allow the job you want. He does not always prevent death. These things are a part of being a part of this creation.

He would not be a good God if He did prevent you from experiencing suffering.