THREE QUESTIONS

1.Why do bad things happen to good people?
2.Why would God allow bad things to happen?
3.Why Must I Suffer?

There’s no totally satisfactory answer to these questions because evil and suffering are Divine mysteries. Philosophers and theologians have pondered these mysteries for thousands of years. There never has been nor will be complete answers this side of heaven.

Nonetheless, looking at theory can correct misconceptions about the role of God in suffering. It’s important to note the difference between moral and non-moral suffering. Moral suffering is suffering that we caused or could have prevented based on choices we made. Non-moral suffering comes from things that we didn't cause or couldn't prevent. This article addresses moral suffering.

Evil exists because God respects our freedom. When we suffer, we might conclude God doesn’t exist or doesn’t care. God granted us a freedom that even He won’t meddle with because He respects our freedom. Our freedom is necessary for love to be authentic. God loves every person He has created; He will not force His love on anyone and will allow them to choose against Him. Choosing against God involves the possibility of moral suffering and evil.

Our freedom to love involves risk. We risk suffering. It is a suffering to be forgotten by a friend who has picked new friends, suspected of wrongdoing by the person you love most, lied to by a friend, or slandered by co-workers. It is a suffering to be rejected because of who you are and for what you believe, dominated and used for someone else’s gratification, humiliated by a family member, tormented by guilt and shame from past mistakes, handicapped by physical illness, abandoned by the person you love most, or grieved by the death of a loved one.

There’s a tendency to blame God for suffering, especially suffering resulting from things outside of us, choices made by other people that affect us. If we’re honest, we can't blame God for this sort of suffering because it involves people making choices out of their own free will. God respects and protects our freedom to love so much that He risks us choosing not to love people and even not to love Him.

Isn’t there an exception? Can’t God coax our family, our sweetheart, our friends, and our co-workers to love us more? We perceive God as being silent because He allows our freedom to be non-coerced, even by Him. God does not intrude upon free will but can give Divine Influence. How He dispenses Divine Influence is also a mystery.


Our human capacity to understand this mystery is limited. This is a tough reality to make peace with. I do know God can ultimately redeem whatever goes wrong; herein lies my hope. Where evil, sin, and suffering abound God teaches me to respond that out of suffering we can create beautiful qualities that last forever. I’ve learned the only really satisfactory way of dealing with evil is not to simply bind it, but rather to overcome it with good.

Suffering gives us the opportunity to move beyond ourselves to create beautiful qualities that transform our hearts. Hidden in the poignancy of suffering is a choice. Will I turn inward to myself because my suffering is pointless and unbearable? Worse yet, will I deny the existence of my suffering altogether? Or will I open myself to the possibility of growth through embracing my suffering?

When suffering turns us in on ourselves, we seek instant pleasures in things, appearances, and egos. These pleasures only distract us momentarily; they can never satisfy suffering. We grieve God when we retreat into ourselves because He seeks to draw us out of ourselves to free us for service in truly great things.