Why does suffering exist in our world?

Question

I just want to see what some people think about the subject of suffering. Why is it here? Where did it come from? Can we do anything about it? Is there a way to solve our pain and suffering that we as humans experience?

Answer 1

First of all, it is possible that God has reasons for allowing evil to exist that we simply cannot understand. In this the Christian can have confidence in God knowing that His ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). As the Bible says, the just shall live by faith (Hab. 2:4).

Second, God may be letting evil run its course in order to prove that evil is evil and that suffering, which is the unfortunate product of evil, is further proof that anything contrary to God’s will is bad, harmful, painful, and leads to death.

God gave Adam dominion over the world (Gen. 1:28). When he rebelled against God, he set in motion an entire series of events and changed the very nature of man and creation. Both were affected by sin. Creation was no longer a paradise, but bore thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-18; Rom. 8:22). People became sinful (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3), who were haters of God (Rom. 3:19-12), etc. The only conclusion to such a situation is death. Jesus said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. 24:22).

Sin is rebellion against God and His created order. But God has not left us alone in this fallen world. He continued to enter this world, pointing us to Himself, to truth, to morality, purity, and love. He used the evil of the world (liars, perjurers, the envious, etc), to bring His Son to the cross so that we might have the opportunity of eternal life. In this, God has not stepped away from fallen creation, but has stepped into it by becoming Jesus. God works within the fallen world to affect change and He uses fallen people to accomplish His will. In this, He is proving His sovereignty over evil, suffering, and rebellious people, proving that sin and evil are utterly futile, and that He is worthy of honor and glory.

A third possible reason that God is letting evil occur is so that on the day of judgment, the condemned will have no right to say that their sentence is unjust. God is not stopping people from exercising their free will. Think about this: If someone said that God should stop evil and suffering, then should God then stop all evil and suffering? If God only stopped some of it, then we would still be asking the same question of why it exists. So, if we want God to stop evil and suffering, then He must stop all of it. We have no problem with this when it means stopping a catastrophe, or a murder, or a rape. But what about when someone thinks of something evil? Evil is evil whether it is acted out or not. Hatred and bigotry in someone’s heart is wrong. If it is wrong, and if God is to stop all evil, then He must stop that person from thinking his own thoughts. To do that, God must remove his freedom of thought. Furthermore, which person on the earth has not thought something evil? God would be required, then, to stop all people from exercising their free will. This is something God has chosen not to do. Therefore, we could say that one of the reasons that God permits evil and suffering is because of man’s free will.

Fourth, it is quite possible that God uses the suffering to do good. In other words, He produces patience through tribulation (Rom. 5:3). Or He may desire to save someone through it. Take for example, the account of Joseph who was sold into slavery by His brothers. What they did was wrong and Joseph suffered greatly for it. But, later, God raised up Joseph in Egypt to make provisions for the people of that land during the coming drought of seven years. But not only was Egypt saved, but also so was his family and brothers who originally sold him into slavery. Joseph finally says to them, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:15-21). Of course, the greatest example of God using evil for good is the death of Christ. Evil people brought him to the cross, but God used that cross as the means to save the world.

But then we must ask, if this is true, are we working against God by working against evil and suffering? No, we are not. God says he does not want us to sin and suffer. But it is simply true that God can use evil despite of its apparent despicable nature.

God is in the world using the world and its failures for His glory and the benefit of those who listen to Him.

But then, what about those who seem to innocently suffer with no benefit resulting? What about the woman who is raped, or the innocent by stander who is killed by a stray bullet. In both cases, the victims and families suffer nothing but pain and loss. What good can this possibly be?

I think that the answer is two-fold. One, ultimately, no one is innocent. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). There is none innocent. Though this is biblically accurate, it does not satisfy the question emotionally. Why do little babies suffer for things they have not done? I must acknowledge that I do not know. Ultimately, we must trust God who knows the beginning from the end and sees the grand picture. He will have the final word and He will be vindicated.

Conclusion

Suffering is the result of human sin. The world is not the way that God created it and because of that, all are vulnerable to the affects of sin in the world. Why does one person suffer and another does not? Why do catastrophes happen to some and no others? It is because sin is in the world. But there will come a day when the Lord will return and cleanse this world of all sin and all suffering.

Answer 2

It is through suffering that people grow and mature and develope. When I think about the times in my life where I became a better person is was suffering that made it happen.

I think, if it were possible to end all suffering and make life "a wonderful utopia" the result would be a life that was too borning to be endured and creat a bunch of spoiled, useless humans who were petty and lazy. Of course, some of us are that way already and ALL of us have had moments of "it's all about me"....but I think it's safe to say suffering makes us better, makes us more empathic, makes us more understanding, more disciplined and.....just better people.

I would not wish extreme suffering on anyone, but it was the suffering in my life that made me better....not the happy times.
If I could, I would not go back and change them.

Answer 3

Because Life in Essence is Suffering. Everything we have or do is attached with suffering... Happy events do not last, so we suffer when we hang on to it. Sad events.. needless to say causes suffering because we feel the hurt.

When are able to enjoy pleasures in life without attaching to it and craving for more, and when we are able to embrace pain and experience it for what it is ( Like a mother giving birth to a child experiences unbelievable pain and yet is NOT suffering )... then Pain does not Equal to suffering... and thus suffering ends.

Answer 4

The Eightfold Noble Path of Siddhartha Gautama is the means which humanity can use to end its suffering.

Click on the Helpful Site below:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html

Answer 5

In the beginning God completely sustained His creation without blemish. That’s why it was perfect. He held every atom together in a perfect state. He kept the planets in their orbits. He kept animals from tripping and breaking their necks. He did not allow people to suffer and die.
Deuteronomy 8:4 gives us a little glimpse of how things might have been in the original creation. “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.” God is omnipotent and perfectly capable of sustaining and protecting his creation.
When Adam sinned, however, the Lord cursed the universe. In essence there was a change and along with that change God seemingly took away a little bit of his sustaining power and allowed things like suffering and death into His creation. Now He permits bad things to happen—and this is a reminder that sin has consequences and that the world needs a Savior. Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

God took pleasure in all of His creation ("http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=revelation+4:11&version=NKJV"), but He loved people most of all. He allowed the created universe to deteriorate so we would see the consequences of our sin. If we did not see the consequences of our sin, we would never see that we need salvation from our sin, and we would never accept His offer of mercy for our sin. Most people easily recognize that there is a problem in the world. This can be used to show them that there is one who has overcome this problem of death and suffering—Jesus Christ.

Answer 6

suffering exists because people and the devil misused their free will and chose to do wrong, which has a consequence of pain. if you pull the trigger, the gun will fire. suffering continues cuz people are generally too lazy or selfish to do anything about it.

and don't go off on the "blame God" standpoint. God, like every spirit, has to enter this world legally, and that is through lives. Miracles happen, but under special circumstances.

Answer 7

There's an entry entitled "Godless Love" on my 360 blog - it's too long to post here, but it does deal with the subject of human suffering and what I think is needed to solve it. The link to my 360 page is on my profile. Check it out if you have time.

Answer 8

a christian answer of why suffering is here, where it came from..

because of disobedience in believing the lie of the devil that it would be a beneficial thing to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

aside from accepting the gospel, and coming into obedience to God which would help in avoiding snares and traps that bring suffering..

things that can be done are already being done. moral society, working within the system.. medicine, firemen, policemen, education, etc. this all costs money to maintain and provide.

Answer 9

Suffering is a part of life. We were sent to this earth to the tested, and to feel joy when we return to God. If we do not suffer, then we can not feel joy. Jesus suffered for our sins, and all the pain and suffering we went to. If we didn't suffer, then Jesus would not of suffered so much for each and everyone of us.

Answer 10

It's a necessary step, it roots from people's subconscious need to control other people on MANY levels, from the level of two people, to Nations. The chaos in our world today was two fold, one...our competitive attitudes drove our technology through the roof, and two...after we master our technological wizardry, the chaos will serve to "wake us up." Human beings are capable of way more than the status quo would like us to believe. More and more people are finding their spiritual truths, and following them. And to many, those spiritual truths are telling them our technology will soon be taking care of all our necessity's such as: clothing, food, housing etc... And people with so much time on their hands, Contrary to popular belief, wont go crazy and live in chaos...we will have more time to follow our own personal spiritual path...and we'll live that way...we only need to believe in ourselves...

Answer 11

The fall in the Garden of Eden caused it, and unfortunatly as long as people are cursing God out of our lives, we will never see it get better. The only hope for happiness is an eternity with God, which He gives so freely to us. He made it simple to find Him because He wants us to find Him, He paid the ultimate price so that we didn't have to, because there is no way we could.