Living in a troubled world
Benjamin F. Plybon
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Miami University
Christians have troubles just like everyone else. Don’t let any preacher tell you otherwise. Every living being on earth experiences some troubles with the suffering and pain that must come. We live in a troubled world. Sometimes people ask, “Why is the world like this?” We wonder at times if it is possible to have a world with no pain and suffering, no tears and disappointment, no sickness and hurt. The wisest philosophers have not discovered how to do that. The truly wise will tell you such a world is not possible because we are much of the problem. We are certainly part of the problem but there are many sources of troubles accompanied by suffering and pain.
We try to manage and deal with natural disasters, the cause of much death, pain and suffering. We shouldn’t blame God or other people for that. If you believe in Mother Nature, blame her. Earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes are a natural part of our environment. Scientists have learned much about all of these natural events in the past century. We have learned much about their causes and how they operate, but they are still a part of this world. We know hurricanes occur because of three factors: the earth rotates on it’s axis, we have an atmosphere of gases and our earth receives radiation from the Sun that heats up our atmosphere. That combination leads inevitably to hurricanes. Elimination of any one of the listed factors might eliminate hurricanes and tornadoes but that would produce an uninhabitable world. We certainly don’t want that. We have not yet found a better planet for our purposes.
Scientific research shows us that we live on a very remarkable planet. God knew what he was doing. Creating a planet without earthquakes would require science unknown to our best scientists. We simply need to learn to live with these undesirable fearures of our natural world. Often we cannot control what happens to us but we can control our response personally and physically, no matter what happens. God can help with that.
The rational thing to do is to focus on that which we can control. We do have the power to reduce the amount of trouble, suffering and pain in this troubled world. We cause much of the suffering and pain for others and they reciprocate. That seems to be human nature. For a variety of reasons we strike out at others to hurt and harm because of hate. People without God seem to find it easier to hate their fellowmen and women than to love them as God desires. Jesus gave his disciples an unusual commandment. He said to them, “ Love one another as I have loved you.” We have failed to do that and we are suffering the consequences. Devout Christians are no exception. We are all sinners in that respect. That explains most of our troubles.
In a world filled with men and woman who could love God and neighbor as Jesus taught us to do, there would be no hate, no enemies and no wars. The Bible tells us that. Ordinary mortals like us seem to be unable to do that. The Bible stories confirm that, too. There would still be pain and suffering, but it would be endurable as loving neighbors joined together to help and comfort one another, enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to love. It would be almost heaven. Not quite heaven yet, but a preview of the world to come at the end of time as described in the Revelation by John.
Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
While we are mortals living on earth there will still be many troubles, including death and mourning. Automobile accidents will happen, disease will strike victims, there will be tornados and earthquakes. So there will be pain and suffering and tears. Knowing we are children of a loving God, surrounded by loving friends, there will be the loving touch and words and those who care, crying with us. That does help ease the pain. And God will shed a tear also while providing the strength to endure.
Deep inside of each one of us there is a war going on between good and evil. We have the capacity for both. Good Friday reminds us every year how cruel even good people can be. Jesus, any innocent man, was crucified, cruelly murdered by people who believed they were good people doing the right thing. Internally, each of us has two opposite natures engaged in a battle for control. St. Paul taught us that. One side of us seeks to do good while the other does not. Children sometimes do surprisingly cruel, unkind acts. As we grow from childhood to adulthood, one side grows stronger and dominates the personality of the adult. Hopefully, the good side prevails, with the desire to love growing stronger and the desire to hate and hurt decreasing. With God’s help that can happen. Unguided and unchecked the evil side fights, powerfully, to overcome. To prevent that, one needs some stronger power within. God provides that help if we ask for his help.
God knows us within, our strengths and weaknesses, our true nature, our hopes and dreams that motivate us. He also knows the enemy better than we can. God has fought against evil and hate from the beginning of the earliest of his human creatures. As our creator He knows us and the enemy better than we can ever know. Who better could we ever have on our side?
It is important to realize no one is totally evil and no one is totally good. We have some of each from the day of our birth. St. Paul spoke of these as the natural man and the spiritual man. The natural man is willing and able to do evil while the spiritual man desires good and has the capacity and desire to love. These two natures of the human being battle for supremacy in the life of each person. The spiritual side of man reaches out and seeks God. If the man invites and asks God to enter into his life then God sends his Spirit to live within the man and provides the power needed within to overcome the natural man.
The natural man follows his physical desires, the flesh Paul tells us, and is very self-centered, focused on ‘my desires not yours.’ Over time the Spirit of God can increase the strength of the spiritual man while the natural man decreases in strength. But our free will enters in at this point. Each person must daily choose to follow the flesh, the way of hate, or the Spirit, the way of love. The choice is always ours. We do not become robots or puppets. Our troubled world is the result of this, because the majority of the people living on earth today are following the natural man, catering to their physical, self-centered nature. That has always been the way of the world we know.
So, why do we have troubles and suffering in our world? All of us have heard about a man named Job who was a good man very much puzzled by the fact that he was suddenly hit by tremendous troubles. A group of men took away his livestock and killed his servants. His son’s home was destroyed by strong winds killing all of his children. Then Job was struck by a skin disease covering him with painful sores. He lived at a time when men believed trouble like this was punishment for sins. His friends decided Job had committed some terrible sins. Job denied that. He was not perfect but he knew he had not committed any truly terrible sin. He did not deserve this.
Some today still believe troubles are the result of sins. Just like Job, some who believe in God do believe God punishes us when we sin; so we have troubles. Many church goers today still believe that, but Jesus taught us that is not true . God, his Father, does not do that. The disciple John gave us an example of this truth in the case of a man who had been blind from birth. Jesus and his disciples met this man as they walked along the dusty way over dirt paths.
John 9:1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Jesus said this and then healed the man. He used the blindness of the man to demonstrate the power of God. The ‘work of God’ he mentioned was the healing.
It is true , some troubles result from simple mistakes we make, and sometimes our sins do lead to consequences that can be terrible troubles. But these are usually predictable things that would normally follow from such actions by a human with no action required on God’s part. A man or women commits adultery and that produces family troubles. A man cheats on his taxes and is ordered by a judge to pay fines or spend time in jail. Very predictable. God is not handing out some punishment in such cases. But it is true that a high percentage of our troubles result from our sins or the sins of some one else. If we harm and hurt others, troubles result for many people. Sin is responsible for much of the trouble and suffering we bring on ourselves or neighbors. We cause trouble for ourselves and others without any need for God to punish anyone. He watches with sadness as we do cruel or foolish things to each other.
Troubles also come when no personal sin is involved. Troubles, personal harm and sometimes death are often the result of floods, earthquakes, and storms of all kinds. These happen as natural events in our world. Trouble comes to any one in the immediate vicinity. Buildings collapse or catch on fire leading to injuries and deaths. Some dangerous events are expected when certain weather conditions are right. We witnessed that fact this recent winter. Some people foolishly claim God should find some way to prevent these troubles. Insurance agencies describe hurricane disasters, such as storm Sandy that struck New Jersey and New York, as ‘acts of God.’ But these are not events designed to punish the sinners in the afflicted areas. It is a scientific fact that because of the way our earth is physically constructed earthquakes, hurricanes and tornados must come, sooner or later. That is a matter of science. Using our God-given knowledge of science we can minimize the damage in these terrible times, but we cannot avoid them entirely.
God does not reach out with his powerful arm and protect us from every natural disaster. That is naïve to expect. He does use his power to help us survive at such times. Our help usually comes from real caring people led, guided and empowered by God, to help and comfort the victims, not magic. I know that from my own experience at a time when I needed help. It is always impressing and inspiring to see good people stand up and reach out to those injured and in trouble. It happens every day in our world today. These are often times when we witness courage and bravery as caring men and women sacrifice and take risks for the benefit of people just trying to survive. God also works directly with the injured, hurting victims who need the strength and healing touch only he can provide. Many prayers are answered although often unseen and unheard.
Victims need the skills of doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and in some cases just a strong helping hand, but even more is the need to know other humans know and care. The injured victims are not alone in the midst of this time of trial. They need to know, God’s people are there and God is too. As the poet Lowell once put it, He is in the shadows watching and watching over his people. Certainly every Christian knows that and is thankful for the comfort that gives. We know that no matter how much the pain may be and how much property is lost, the pain will become a memory of the past and we will survive the lost of homes. With God we will pick up the pieces of our life and move on to a new and better life.
I was reminded of that last Fall. Last September I fell and broke my left hip. Surgeons mended the break, nurses and other hospital workers cared for me as I lay in a bed mending. People fed me and comforted. Physical therapists helped me learn to walk again. Nursing and caring for the sick and injured people in the world is hard work. No one does that just for the money. No one ever expects to have this kind of trouble but when it happens we do what we must and move on to the best of our ability. Loving family members and neighbors ease the pain. That’s life in this world.
It is possible that troubles serve a purpose in God’s plan for us. Some thinkers believe troubles are used by God to shape lives, making better people. That certainly does happen for some victims of disasters. When the 911 tragedy occurred, rescuers came from many places and there were many heroic rescues. Ordinary people, police and fire fighters in particular, rise to greatness at such times. Besides the experience of traumatic disasters we sometimes we see persons who live a life full of trouble and difficulties, one after another throughout their lives. The life of such an unfortunate one seems to be a continuing stream of difficulties. Yet they rise from ordinary lives to greatness by facing difficult situations, living through the hard times and surviving. The man or women is strengthened by the experience. Prime examples are Abraham Lincoln and Helen Keller.
Troubles can drive one down or push one upward in an inspirational way. It’s all a matter of the response of each of us individually as our troubles come. God can help guide our responses and give the power to act accordingly. Events and people can push us down but God is always there ready to pull us upward. Remember always to look upward, not down. As a great poet once said:
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13
(Copyright 2015 Benjamin F. Plybon. All rights reserved.)
