Suffering and Compassion

[Defiant Tuesday]

That makes sense assuming the situation is out of God's control. It's good to make lemonade when life hands you a lemon.

I think suffering creates a problem with viewing God as an all powerful being. First, no one is all powerful. Second and more important, it creates some nasty philosophical problems.

Nasty philosophical problems indeed :willy_nilly:

 

[Diggin Deep]

Btw, I'm not trying to pick on you Diggin Deep. I know there are many Christians that share your view. Some even in this thread. I single you out a lot because you seem more open to questioning your views than most.

Sorry for my delayed response and no harm taken...Thank You!!! Here is what I wrote in another thread regarding suffering and tragedy...

One of the biggest reasons I fell away from Christianity was because of suffering and tragedy. Not only in my life, but in the lives of so many in the world. It took me a long time to understand that God doesn't cause suffering, but even more importantly - why He allows it.

One might think that all the suffering should be over since Jesus paid the price for all mankind, but unfortunately, there is still suffering in this world and in this life. Although unpleasant and sometimes unspeakable, there are many lessons to learn from suffering. From that perspective, it is a spiritual blessing.

Not all who suffer choose to do so, but once in the midst of it, people make critical decisions. As we see in the story of Job (one amazing story) and when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for another way other than crucifixion.

It is noteworthy to consider that one of the first lessons God wants His people to learn is that although there is suffering in this life, He is the great Savior. "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." (James 5:10, 11)

Hellen Keller once said, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

When suffering is viewed as having a purpose, one can learn from it, and use it for the benefit of teaching or helping others. Jesus Christ suffered willingly and by design. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." (1 Peter 3:18) Without His suffering for humanity, there would be no restoration or reconciliation with God.

Jesus' suffering was with a divine purpose. Contemporary author and motivational speaker, Robert Ringer, wrote, "The most worthwhile lessons in life are the ones we learn through adversity. Some day you may be in a situation that will require you to draw on that experience, perhaps to help someone dear to you through a similar issue."

There are worse things than suffering in life, and perhaps worse than suffering is not learning anything from the experience. All humans go through different kinds and various degrees of suffering, and some live lives full of it. Thankfully, we can rest assured that the suffering we face on earth is only temporary and we have much to look forward to

 

[BornReady]

When suffering is viewed as having a purpose, one can learn from it, and use it for the benefit of teaching or helping others.

I agree if one must suffer then it is good to make the best of it. But you say suffering has a purpose. I think I have successfully refuted that its purpose is to teach us compassion or draw us closer to God. So what purpose might it have? If suffering is unavoidable then this question doesn't need an answer. But when one says God allows us to suffer, the implication is he could prevent it but chooses not to because it serves some purpose. What purpose?

 

[Diggin Deep]

God uses pain and suffering to draw us to Himself so that we will cling to Him. Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation”. Trials and distress are not something unusual in life. In Christ we have an anchor that holds fast in all the storms of life, but if we never sail into those storms, how would we know that? It is in times of despair and sorrow that we reach out to Him, and, if we are His children, we always find Him there waiting to comfort and uphold us through it all. In this way, He proves His faithfulness to us and ensures that we will stay close to Him. An added benefit is that as we experience God’s comfort through trials, we are then able to comfort others in the same way.

He proves to us that our faith is real through the suffering and pain that are inevitable in this life. How we respond to suffering is determined by the genuineness of our faith. Those with faith truly from God, will not be crushed by suffering.

God uses suffering to take our eyes off this world and put them on the next. The Bible continually exhorts us to not get caught up in the things of this world, but to look forward to the world to come. This world and all that is in it will pass away, but the kingdom of God is eternal.

Could God prevent all suffering? Of course. But He assures us that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). So even suffering is part of the “all things” that God is using to accomplish His good purposes. His plan is perfect, His character is flawless, and those who trust Him will not be disappointed.

God could change everyone’s personality so that they cannot sin and change the world so there would be no suffering. This would also mean that we would not have a free will. We would not be able to choose right or wrong because we would be “programmed” to only do right. Had God chosen to do this, there would be no meaningful relationships between Him and His creation.

Would we rather have God compensating for people’s actions through supernatural intervention 100% of the time. For instance, if a drunk driver causes an automobile accident, God would have to keep him and the people in the other automobile from getting harmed, for there would be many people who could possibly be caused to suffer from the accident or the death / injury of those involved in the accident. God would have to keep the drunk driver from crashing into power lines, buildings, etc. because these things would cause innocent people to suffer.

Another instance might involve someone plumbing a house, and he doesn’t bother to check the plumbing for leaks before the house is finished. God would have to make the plumbing not leak because otherwise the home buyers would have to suffer for the lazy person’s sin.

If a father gets addicted to drugs and spends all of his money on drugs, God would somehow have to miraculously provide both the food and the social needs of the children so that they would not have to be adversely affected by the evil of the parent.

In such a world, God would be like a bad parent who enables a wayward child’s destructive behavior. There would be no consequences for one’s actions, and as a result no one would learn integrity, purity, honor, responsibility, or self-control. There would be no “good consequences” for right behavior, no “bad consequences” for wrong behavior.

Instead, God has chosen to create a “real” world in which real choices have real consequences. In this real world of ours, our actions affect others. We live in a real world where our good and evil actions have direct consequences and indirect consequences upon us and those around us. God desires for us to follow Him and to be faithful that He will take care of us through the best and worst of times. Instead, what happens more often than not is that we choose our own way and then we blame God for not doing anything about it.

 

[BornReady]

lol Too long for me to read. I'm lazy.