why do we have to suffer?

Question

Someone asked me that and I said "because he can rectify it and will, very soon" I don't like giving fundamentalist answers like "don't ask that, God knows what he's doing". I took me lesson from Job. So is that a legit response or is there a better one?

Answer 1

God does not cause suffering of any kind. It is not in His will to cause suffering. When a child dies and people say "It was Gods will..." No it was not. If the parents so thought it was God's will for a child to be stricken with cancer, then why do they take them to the doctor for treatment? If they feel it is Gods will then they should honor that by letting the child die. God does not cause sickness, or evil, or hatred. Man causes this with their own stupidity.

Answer 2

We have to suffer because we have been born into a world marred by sin. But our suffering is not going to be forever. The time will come soon, that suffering, sin, sorrow, sickness, separation and death will cease, and we will live in the new earth where there is only happiness and joy and righteousness.

The Bible gives a parable of the farmer whose envious neighbor scattered seed of tares among the wheats. But the farmer could not pluck the tares without harming the wheat as well. So he let them grow together until the harvest time, where you can easily separate the tares from the wheat becasue you cannot find fruits in the tares. The same will happen to the world. Satan, the rival of God, have planted tares among the wheat in order to destroy God's creation. But one day, at the harvest time, the tares and the wheat will be separated. The wheat will be taken to heaven and the tares will be burned into ashes and become fertelizer.
This is a lesson from somebody Who is better than Job, from Jesus Himself.

Answer 3

To find out why God allows suffering, we need to think back to the time when suffering began. When Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying Jehovah, an important question was raised. Satan did not call into question Jehovah's power. Rather, Satan questioned Jehovah's right to rule. By calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects, Satan charged that Jehovah is a bad ruler. (Genesis 3:2-5) Satan implied that mankind would be better off without God's rulership. This was an attack on Jehovah's sovereignty, his right to rule. Adam and Eve rebelled against Jehovah. In effect, they said: "We do not need Jehovah as our Ruler. We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong." How could Jehovah settle that issue? How could he teach all intelligent creatures that the rebels were wrong and that his way truly is best? Someone might say that God should simply have destroyed the rebels and made a fresh start. But Jehovah had stated his purpose to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam and Eve, and he wanted them to live in an earthly paradise. (Genesis 1:28) Jehovah always fulfills his purposes. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) Besides that, getting rid of the rebels in Eden would not have answered the question that had been raised regarding Jehovah's right to rule. Consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher's way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in class might lose their respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem. Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) So, how Jehovah handles the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. What has Jehovah done? He has allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan's guidance. The teacher in this illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point would benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: "I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step."--Jeremiah 10:23. First, Jehovah has not stopped Satan and those who side with him from trying to prove that they are right. Allowing time to pass has thus been necessary. In the thousands of years of human history, mankind has been able to try every form of self-rule, or human government. Mankind has made some advances in science and other fields, but injustice, poverty, crime, and war have grown ever worse. Human rule has now been shown to be a failure. Second, Jehovah has not helped Satan to rule this world. If God were to prevent horrible crimes, for instance, would he not, in effect, be supporting the case of the rebels? Would God not be making people think that perhaps humans can govern themselves without disatrous results? If Jehovah were to act in that way, he would become party to a lie. However, "it is impossible for God to lie."--Hebrews 6:8. What, though, about all the harm that has been done during the long rebellion against God? We do well to remember that Jehovah is almighty. Therefore, he can and will undo the effects of mankind's suffering. The ruining of our planet will be undone by the turning of the earth into Paradise. The effects of sin will be removed through faith in Jesus' ransom sacrifice, and the effects of death will be reversed by means of the resurrection. God will thus use Jesus "to break up the works of the Devil." (1 John 3:8) Jehovah will bring all of this about at just the right time. We can be glad that he has not acted sooner, for his patience has given us the opportunity to be born, to learn the truth, and to serve him. (2 Peter 3:9, 10) Meanwhile, God has been actively seeking sincere worshipers and helping them to endure any suffering that may come upon them in this troubled world.--John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 10:13. Source of information, "What Does The Bible Really Teach?" Pgs. 109-113. Published by the Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society..

Answer 4

We suffer because we live in sin. This world is not perfect and never will be. But by believing your soul will soon be redeemed and brought to a place where imperfection, and suffering will be no more. I personally like to say that this is world is a test. If you can stay faithful through all the suffering you will be rewarded.

Answer 5

we suffer because of things we have brought on ourselves with hatred, greed, pollution, poison,war and sickness and jealousy and addiction and loss. most of these things we have brought upon ourselves. maybe not individually and maybe not in our generation and perhaps what we are doing now is going to make the next generation suffer. i use to want to throw the whole suffering thing at god and maybe he could step in and stop it or maybe he could have a long time ago but here we are and we are the ones who were given this earth and look what we have done with it and continue to do. suffering is inevitable. and this word why? why? used to drive me crazy. it got me no where but asking how starting me on the path of making changes. if i realize suffering is a part of the whole experience of life along with every other good expression including some joy. and that my suffering experience might have some strength in it to offer someone else ,then maybe they can be inspired like others have inspired me. i also use to sit in my suffering much longer than i needed too as i waited for the next suffering so i could prove my case to the world how i had been overdealt such a hand of grief. i collected evidence on it and that is exactly what i got. when i changed my mindset to "why are there so many blessings?" things became tolerable and now life is actually precious to me who used to want to have no existance at all. when i compare my suffering to that of others i have none really. i live in abundance. although in american standards i am low income and chronically ill. i know i live in abundance on a global level.i also know those things are external and i have learned to go inside my heart where god is. when i live only in each moment for the contents of that moment then suffering will not have to spill out in to the rest of my life. it can be over when it is over. i will not have to project about some suffering that in the future has not happened. i used to suffer immensly over the question of why we suffer and that was needless suffering. i could have been doing something much kinder to myself or the world until real suffering popped its painful head up. and when it does i learn compassion and empathy . without a doubt these are the times i am in constant contact with my higher power.

Answer 6

Buddhist thought is that suffering is inseparable from longing. To live attached to temporal things is to experience suffering. Temporal things include notions like the idea that you are a separate self. All things are interconnected and nothing can arise without connections to other things, including you, your thoughts, and your actions.

One can escape suffering by becoming enlightened about the nature of existence. In a summary of Buddhist thought, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

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Answer 7

Here ya go.

1. God is perfect
2. A perfect God would by His nature create the best possible world
3. The best possible world is one where agents have the freewill to love or reject God
4. In order for freewill to exist there must exist the capacity for both good and evil
5. Therefore evil exists and it's existence is both sensible and necessary

Answer 8

When sin entered the world and mankind fell, suffering came along with the punishment. It's part of life now, but there is a time coming when there will no longer be suffering.

Answer 9

We don't know the suffering that God does keep us from having to bear, but if he kept us from suffering at all then that wouldn't necessarily mean that there would not be suffering anywhere. If I die and in dying give you a chance to live is my suffering worth anything? Jesus suffered a horrible death because of sin, the reason for suffering.

Answer 10

Job’s behaviour was actually superior to the god who was abusing him. What an embarrassing book to have in the bible. I think we suffer because the universe is flawed.