The Spirtual Forge

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN?

Why does God allow evil to happen? If God is so great and so good, why does he allow human beings to hurt each other, suffering, and pain?

These are good questions, that many of us will wrestle with before our life's end.  

• One of the answers that comes back on this, is that we live in a sinful world. Sin ultimately is selfishness. I want to do what I want, not what God tells me to do. Sin always hurts others, not just ourselves and when people sin - others - we suffer.
• Another, is that it exists because of our own selves. Much of the time, we suffer because of our own choices. God gives us the freedom to decide how we will act and the ability to make moral choices. This is what sets us apart from animals, but it also is the source of  much pain in the world. Every one of us is capable of making selfish, self-centered or even evil choices. Whenever that happens, people get hurt.

So, we ask - GOD! WHY ARE YOU LETTING THIS HAPPEN?  Let's think about this. 

• God could have eliminated evil from our world by simply removing our ability to choose. He could have made us marionettes on strings that he pulls. By taking away our ability to choose, evil would vanish. Then, what kind of life would that be?  Love is not genuine if there is no other option. God did not want this kind of love, nor did He want to create a people with no ability to choose. Like Him, we want to be loved because people choose to love us, not because they are forced to.
• Evil could have been eliminated by God simply choosing NOT to create the world and us in it. Then where would we be? Not here...that's for certain.

There is a much simpler and more direct answer to this question. Many want to blame God for the evil that exists in the world, and the evil things that happen. Yet, they do not stop to consider...

The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. - John 3:19

God could keep the terrorists from completing their missions, tyrants from coming to power, criminals from stealing and murder and much more. He could short-circuit their ability to choose their own will instead of His and impose HIS will on them.  Yet, in all fairness, God  would have to do that to all of us. We aren't terrorists, tyrants, or criminals, but we do hurt others with our own selfish decisions and actions.

In all honesty, in a world of free choices, God's will is rarely chosen! People doing "what we want" is much more common and much easier.  In heaven, God's will IS done perfectly. That's why there is no sorrow, pain or evil there.It is the ONE place where people CHOOSE what God wants because they LOVE HIM!  But this is earth, this  imperfect place, we must choose to do God's will every day. It isn't automatic. That is why Jesus told us to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

The truth about evil and its existence?  We're far more interested in pleasing ourselves than we are in pleasing God who made us. Eradication of evil and solutions to evil will not come from politicians, drugs, education, et.al. We must look to God and his Word for comfort, direction and answers to our questions. It is you and I who must humble ourselves and admit that each of us often chooses to ignore what God wants us to do.

We were made for a relationship with God, but HE waits for us to choose him. He is ready to comfort, guide and direct us through our grief. But the choice is ours. It is not God's fault, if OUR CHOICE is evil.

Jim