What's the point of suffering? Why does God allow people to suffer? Is suffering for his Glory? I don't get

Question

Certainly there are those who bring about their own suffering. Self inflicted. I've gone through things and I'm currently going through some situations that I just can't understand. I'm trying to figure out where is God in all of this? I sometimes wonder why even bother? It's really frustrating. Comments are welcome. Post away.

fllape. You don't want me to go into serious questions? You want me to go see a movie or something? ( o _ 0 ) Ok.........I'll get right on that.

I posted this question in hope of getting some serious answers! Why do you suppose I would post a serious question?! ( o _ 0 ) What? For amusement?

Work it out? ( o _ 0 ) Andy trust me on this. I've tried to "work" it out and it's not exactly "working" itself out!

Answer 1

Suffering is a result of Adam and Eve's choice to deny God's intervention.
From the reasoning book:
Why does God permit suffering?

Who really is to blame for it?

Humans are to blame for much of the suffering. They fight wars, commit crimes, pollute the environment, often carry on business in a manner motivated by greed rather than concern for their fellowman, and sometimes indulge in habits that they know can be harmful to their health. When they do these things, they hurt others and themselves. Should it be expected that humans would be immune to the consequences of what they do? (Gal. 6:7; Prov. 1:30-33) Is it reasonable to blame God for these things that humans themselves do?

Satan and his demons also share responsibility. The Bible discloses that much suffering is because of the influence of wicked spirits. The suffering for which so many people blame God does not come from him at all.—Rev. 12:12; Acts 10:38; see also pages 363, 364, under the heading “Satan the Devil.”

How did suffering get started? Examination of the causes focuses attention on our first human parents, Adam and Eve. Jehovah God created them perfect and put them in paradise surroundings. If they had obeyed God, they would never have got sick or died. They could have enjoyed perfect human life forever. Suffering was not part of Jehovah’s purpose for mankind. But Jehovah clearly told Adam that continued enjoyment of what He had given them depended on obedience. Obviously, they had to breathe, eat, drink, and sleep in order to continue living. And they had to keep God’s moral requirements in order to enjoy life fully and to be favored with such life forever. But they chose to go their own way, to set their own standards of good and bad, and thus they turned away from God, the Life-Giver. (Gen. 2:16, 17; 3:1-6) Sin led to death. It was as sinners that Adam and Eve produced children, and they could not pass on to their children what they no longer had. All were born in sin, with inclinations toward wrongdoing, weaknesses that could lead to illness, a sinful inheritance that would eventually result in death. Because everyone on earth today was born in sin, all of us experience suffering in various ways.—Gen. 8:21; Rom. 5:12.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 says that “time and unforeseen occurrence” also have a bearing on what happens to us. We may get hurt, not because the Devil directly causes it or because any human does it, but because by chance we are in a place at the wrong moment.

Answer 2

Two suggestions: google the word "theodicy" and read the Book of Job in the Old Testament.

The question of how an all-powerful and all-loving God can allow suffering has been argued and analyzed and pondered over for somthing like 5,000 yrs. We're not going to think up a perfect answer here on Yahoo!Answers.

The basic contradiction is: if God is all powerful and all loving, then he would stop suffering when it happened. But if he was all powerful, and allowed suffering, then he must not be all loving. Or if he's all loving, then he must not be all powerful because he can't stop suffering from happening.

But no -- the Church still says (and I believe) that God is both all-powerful and all-loving. So....?

Maybe Job can give us a hint. You know the story: he was a righteous man, meaning he was honest, kind, loving, etc. But still all these calamaties happened to him.

Back then they thought that if something bad happened to you it was becasue you did something wrong and God was punishing you. (Too bad today there are still too many people who believe this.) So Job's friends came around to ask him what he'd done to tick God off so bad.

Blah, blah, blah, then at last Job gets tired of it and confronts God and asks what is up with all this suffering I'm having to endure?

The answer God gives takes some thought to understand: God answers something like: "Where were you when I created the universe and everything in it, including you?"

Some answer, huh? Like, what does it mean?

I think it means that we are mortal with mortal brains and God is immortal with immortal brains. There are some things we just can't understand right now. Maybe we'll understand them later, but for now, we "just have to have faith."

So there's no clear-cut answer for now, but that doesn't mean we should stop questioning and looking for one.

Answer 3

God is right by you always, and from your words I see that you are still having trouble getting all the old wine out before the new can be poured in. The old wine is the notion that God can make a man leave Him and get inside a mortal body and the new wine is the understanding of what is true, and parting with the false, and having no need to look back. Suffering is a condition unknown to God's idea, so your suffering sense is not from above nor is it perpetuated by His care and love. It is "real" only to the one who believes in it.

Answer 4

first of all in my life i've noticed that the rain falls on the good and bad alike, without suffering how would we define ourselves? without suffering how would we have any sense of accountability? without suffering how would we grow past what we are today? this isn't heaven nor is it hell but if you try i'll bet you can see both from here, this is earth and here we are subject to forces from both. you try because the job isn't done yet if it were you'd be dead that simple. personally i don't know where i'd be without my suffering but i know i wouldn't be what i am today and i guess that's what spooks me most about the idea of heaven, no more fighting not something i've managed to wrap my head around yet. i think here on earth is a battleground maybe i'm being overly dramatic about all this but no matter what we choose we have to suffer for it or we just end up flip flopping from womb till grave, following whatever path is easiest and that's not really living. we have free will and that doesn't come without cost angels don't have it nor do the devils but we do so we have to choose and a choice without suffering is no choice at all. now in as much as i do love the sound of my own voice i think i'll stop now have fun kiddo

Answer 5

suffering is a result of free will. to have free will, you must be able to do both good and evil alike. if God suppressed evil actions (which are the cause of almost all suffering) then there would be no free will because we would only be able to do good and not evil. in short, for God to eliminate suffering would be to deny those who cause it their right to free will. Because love cannot exist without the choice between love and hate (or between good and evil), then to have true love, evil (and thus suffering) must be allowed as well. Sure, God could have made us all immune to suffering, but then we couldn't have free will either. The essence of freedom is the choice between good and bad, and when people choose the bad, it causes suffering for others. That's my take on it anyway. And I'll be praying for you that you'll get through your troubles. I hope this helped a little =)

Answer 6

God does not allow suffering. The conditions and situations that cause human suffering are actually the fault and cause of humanity itself.

Before we were born we were all given a mission but we had some say in chosing what it would be. Some souls chose to accept suffering so that there would be a way for other's to show compassion and love or perhaps to motivate someone else along towards their mission and journey here on earth. it is a task that will surely bring great reward for the brave souls that agreed to take on this burdon for us all. Remember when you think that you have suffered and you think you have it bad look around, there are people in theworld and right there around you that have things much worse than you do you just are not aware of everyone's private situation. Be happy with your lot, things can always get worse to teach you the lesson of being grateful for what it is you do have and not focused on what it is that you do not have.

Answer 7

I've got to say that suffering occurs in order to strengthen us after it is over. Unfortunately, some people's suffering never ends, and some people never get stronger, and forever carry around the burden of their wounds. Suffering brings us wisdom and understanding about how the world functions. Now, my question is that why would such a world, where pain and anguish are needed in proper amount to determine your success, be created by a benevolent entity?

Answer 8

Sometimes, when we are suffering,..it brings us closer to our Father...as weird as that may sound, if you think about it...his children will suffer because satan is out to destroy all the faith in God that he can cause...so, those of us that endure to the end, will have no more sadness in our lives...ours, will be the riches in Heaven, with Christ Jesus, and Father God....God is there and that is when you have to recognize it for what it is...satan is trying to shake your faith,...so be strong,...and don't let him get yet another one...God knows what He is doing...and maybe you won't know it now, but you will soon...with God, nothing is impossible...don't forget that..leave it in His hands, through Jesus,...and you will understand why it is all happening...if you knew what I was going through right now, you would see that I am not just 'saying ' it...God Bless, and stay strong,..you will win with the Lord in the end

Answer 9

When you listen to people cite Adam and Eve as the reason for suffering... or YOU as the reason for suffering... does it make you cringe a little? Maybe want to throw up in your mouth a little?

I'm sick of these people always making you feel bad about yourself.

It's OK not to know what exists beyond this universe.

Do small children inflicted with terrible disease bring about their own suffering? I doubt it.

Religion to me is greater as a tool for war, death and bigotry than it is for the value of people living by moral codes.

Remember, don't feel bad for being human. It's not YOUR fault for suffering despite what these peculiar story tellers preach.

Does it make everyone feel good that there exists a God who puts you through a test to let you into Heaven? Why is my question? Why would that be the case?

An all-knowing all-powerful God toying with small little beings here for under 100 years losing people they love, suffering with strange things... and then to be made to feel we're to blame by people who know just as little as the rest.

I'm not particularly keen to following others who think this way.

Answer 10

Many times over God gave his people wonderful times, over and over. And all they did was stay happy and put him in misery, doing what they wanted; instead of what he said. So God would punish them, they would straiten out for a bit; then back to forgetting and being bad. When we suffer we remember much better that God is God and watching over us.
A lot of people believe that if you just claim to be Christian you will go to Heaven. But Jesus said more than that. He said we also have to be willing to suffer for God, to get to heaven.
I am the mother of two kidnapped children. Will I ever see them again? Do they know I am here? But God graced me with epilepsy. Because of my epilepsy I do not hurt nearly as much as on who is not epileptic yet children are kidnapped. For the epilepsy relieves the pain. Sometimes we think we are suffering and what we are is graced with what God gave us. Try looking at life from other angles; but always with God in mind.

Answer 11

When someone askes this I always think well, Christ suffered, so why shouldn't man suffer? And then I think about this verse:

1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.