“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).
Suffering is part of life. Although people experience it in different ways, it is an essential part of everyone’s life. It also affects animals, because the perception of suffering is not only at the rational level but also at the sensory level. For humans, however, suffering is much more intense because we have the capacity, through our reason, to anticipate and experience suffering before it happens. Throughout each of our individual histories there have been attempts not only to avoid suffering, but also to understand why it occurs, what its role is, and why people experience it differently.
Ways of thinking about suffering
1. Chance and suffering: when you’re unlucky
The theory of randomness suggests that everything happens by chance, with no purpose or pattern behind the occurrence of particular happy or unhappy events. In such a reality, the suffering that someone experiences is usually due to natural causes, with some situations where you are “lucky” and others where you are not.
2. Determinism and suffering: “everything will happen as it is written”
Existential determinism holds that everything that happens in our lives is predetermined by factors beyond our control: God, by predetermining every destiny, or the stars that influence the life of every being, etc. This perspective is subordinate to philosophical thinking that sees God as timeless and impassible, a God who is less interested in created beings than in His plans. According to this view, mercy and compassion are alien to God because He cannot have emotions. The biblical perspective, however, presents us with a God who is concerned about His creation and desires a loving relationship with intelligent created beings.
3. Providence and suffering: retributive thinking
In the Judeo-Christian religious spectrum we can discover two main perspectives on God’s involvement in human suffering: (a) the absence of suffering as a reward for virtuous living, and (b) suffering as a punishment for unrighteous behaviour. This approach is not entirely wrong, since there are times in the Bible when God has explicitly punished the transgression of His laws and blessed those who, in fear of Him, have obeyed His moral requirements. But these instances where we see divine retribution are not an exhaustive picture. We also discover situations where this perspective does not provide a satisfactory answer. The case of Job is very relevant in this context. The dialogue between Job and his friends is an attempt to explain Job’s suffering solely from the perspective of retribution. To Job’s friends it seems simple enough. But for Job, his unnatural suffering makes no sense from the perspective of divine retribution, because he has done nothing so serious as to warrant such punishment.
4. God’s silence
Another relevant perspective on this issue is the silence of God. Although it is also found in the theory of randomness, this view argues for God’s deliberate silence so that human beings can learn from and through suffering, as they chose to do in the beginning. The implication is that once man has desired knowledge of good and evil, suffering and difficult experiences serve as an effective way of learning moral lessons.
The role of suffering
In John 9, where the episode of the healing of the man born blind is narrated, we find two perspectives on his situation: (a) the retributive perspective, as found in the disciples’ question—”Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2), and (b) the perspective that focuses on the result, not the cause. Jesus is not looking for someone to blame, but for solutions and what can be done in the given situation.[1] He therefore categorically rejects the approach that analyses the case from the perspective of retributive causes. Jesus opens another, much deeper perspective, which we will explore throughout this article. The question “Why?”, while legitimate, is not always the most appropriate question. Jesus teaches us that in a context of suffering, it is not so important to find a culprit, but to find a solution to alleviate the plight of the suffering.
1. The consequence of personal failures
Have you considered what the absence of physical pain would mean for our security? If we were to have a heart problem and there were no unpleasant symptoms, we wouldn’t go to the doctor because we wouldn’t realise that something was wrong with our heart. Lack of pain puts us at risk of even losing our lives.
When we talk about suffering as a result of personal mistakes, we are talking about the principle of cause and effect. An unhealthy lifestyle leads to illness. Wrong decisions lead to unpleasant consequences. In this respect, Ellen White says: “Perhaps some living home trouble is, like a canker, eating to the very soul and weakening the life forces. Remorse for sin sometimes undermines the constitution and unbalances the mind. There are erroneous doctrines also, as that of an eternally burning hell and the endless torment of the wicked, that, by giving exaggerated and distorted views of the character of God, have produced the same result upon sensitive minds. Infidels have made the most of these unfortunate cases, attributing insanity to religion; but this is a gross libel and one which they will not be pleased to meet by and by. The religion of Christ, so far from being the cause of insanity, is one of its most effectual remedies; for it is a potent soother of the nerves.”[2]
We can see from the above passage that wrong ideas about God can lead to serious psychological problems, which at some point may have somatic manifestations. Wrong thinking can have a number of harmful consequences for both mental and physical health. In a world marked by sin and evil, suffering can sometimes be seen as a blessing in disguise, helping us to realise that we are on the wrong track and in danger. Although there are situations where the effects come much later and may not be as severe, the principle of cause and effect remains valid.
2. Divine education for the correction of thinking
A deeper analysis of human suffering reveals another dimension—that of a pedagogical tool. Sacred Scripture offers examples of suffering with a pedagogical role: (a) the Babylonian exile—a plan by which God wanted to heal the Jewish people from the sin of idolatry and disobedience (the pedagogical measure was temporary, for 70 years, during which time those taken into captivity were to understand what they had lost and learn obedience); during this time, a new generation was to be born which could be properly educated by repentant parents; (b) the drought of the prophet Elijah—a plan by which God wanted to make the whole nation aware that it was not Baal who was the source of blessings (sunshine, rain, abundant crops) but Him (Yahweh).
Education through suffering applies not only to the collective but also to the individual. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, the apostle Paul tells us that, as a result of a supernatural experience, “in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” The warning here is that the danger of falling into the sin of pride exists even in the context of receiving divine revelation. The apostle’s suffering was necessary to maintain humility in relationship to God and others. Although Paul asks God to take away his suffering, the Lord’s answer gives him a different perspective on his suffering: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9). The Greek text gives us an even clearer perspective: “My power accomplishes its purpose in weakness.” In this context we understand that in weakness (suffering) we feel vulnerable and dependent on God’s grace. It is very interesting that the “thorn” remained in Paul’s body until the end of his life.
3. Revelation in the context of the great controversy between good and evil
This perspective on the role of suffering is perhaps the most complex. To understand it better, let us return to two of the examples given above. In trying to understand Job’s suffering, two perspectives must be taken into account:
- Job and his friends did not have access to the information at the beginning of the book; the dialogue between God and Satan was unknown to them. It is not very clear from the Book of Job to what extent they knew the magnitude of the controversy between good and evil. Therefore, Job and his friends could only interpret Job’s suffering in terms of retribution. But Job does not give credit to the retributive system, because he did not consider himself guilty of such grave sins as to merit such a great punishment. Job’s intransigence in defending his innocence is remarkable.
- For the reader of the Book of Job, the dimension of the struggle between good and evil is revealed from the very beginning. Job’s suffering is thus placed in the much larger context of the stakes of worship: “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9) Yes, love of God implies obedience, even in crisis. Job remains an example of obedience to God throughout the millennia, and his suffering is a revelation to all intelligences, heavenly and earthly.
The other example is that of the man born blind in John 9. The disciples’ concern about the cause of his blindness reflected the Jewish thinking of their day: every health problem is rooted in a sinful act. This approach places people with such problems in the category of sinners. Jesus’s approach points to a much deeper plan than simply identifying a natural or punitive cause: “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (verse 3). The blind man becomes a means by which God is revealed, an instrument for the revelation of Jesus’s messianic role. Scripture does not give us any information about the spiritual experiences of the blind man. We are not told of the theological dilemmas in his mind. But we are told of the bright outlook he had, now healed, after washing in the pool of Siloam. Presumably, if he had started life again, he would have chosen the same path.
Conclusion
Human suffering has so many manifestations that we cannot say that there is a clear answer to every question. Beyond the questions that have or have not been answered, there remains trust in our Heavenly Father. Everything happens with His approval. The apostle Paul teaches that the best solution is not necessarily to find answers, but the perspective of eternity: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
Marius Mitrache presents several perspectives on suffering. Its complexity reveals new meanings, but at the same time reminds us that there are questions to which, in a sinful world, we may not find fully satisfactory answers.