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Tragedies, sickness and sufferings come to us because we live in a world under the curse of sin. Before Adam and Eve sinned life was a paradise. They were warned that if they disobeyed God they would surely die (Gen. 2:17). They sinned and the consequence was that they lost access to the tree of life that guaranteed their health and immortality (Gen. 3:22-23). That day the process of decay and aging began. From that moment onward every child born was destined to eventually die. Some live long lives before death overtakes them, others die young, some miscarry or are still born.
Disease, accidents and death are now part of the moral, physical system in which we live. God does not have to personally intervene and say, "This one will be sick, or this one will die today." Disease, accidents and violence are the precursors of death. If God did not intervene in any way each of us would eventually contract various diseases. Some we will overcome, some will overcome us. Accidents occur for many reasons, some from seemingly no reason at all. Should a child leave a marble or a pencil on the floor and you step on it, slip and fall, it is not God's fault. Nor is it his fault when an engine fails on an airplane causing it to crash.
Under the curse our planet is now subject to natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, floods, fires, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and tornadoes. God does not have to send these things. Natural processes produce them. Thus we have scientists constantly studying such natural phenomena and advising us how to avoid the consequence of them. Coastal dwellers are warned to evacuate inland when a hurricane is approaching. Warnings tell folks to seek shelter from tornadoes. Those in flood planes are warned to seek higher ground if the waters are rising. These destructive systems operate from natural causes.
We do not deny that God can and sometimes does send natural disasters on wicked people as he did in Noah's day, but it would be a mistake to assume that every such event is a direct of his. God is responsible only in the sense that he imposed the penalty of death on the human race because of the sin of Adam and Eve and placed the earth under a curse (Rom 8:19-22). Be reminded that that couple constituted the entire human race when the disobeyed God. If we must establish blame for our suffering it would be laid at the feet of Satan who deceived Eve, and beguiled her into disobeying God's plain prohibition (Gen. 3:3-7; II Cor. 11:3).
When we contract a disease that causes us to suffer and die, it may be that we have done nothing specifically deserving of that. Many times the finest Christians suffer greatly in life. But since we are the children of Adam and Eve and living under the curse, we bear the consequences. The same would certainly be true of little children. There may be some instances where God will smite a wicked person with disease or death, as he did Herod (Acts 12:21-23). But sometimes a wicked person will live to be a hundred and rarely be sick. Yet in the end he succumbs to death.
Much of our suffering we bring on ourselves by neglect or abuse of our bodies, by carelessness or by foolishness. For example. If we do not eat properly we can become malnourished and sickly. If we overeat we might incur diabetes, cardiovascular problems, etc. If we do not get proper exercise we suffer for it. Smokers pay for their habit by illness and shorten lives. Those who abuse alcohol do the same, plus they are much more likely to be involved in serious accidents. Many young people suffer serious injuries or even death because they drive in a reckless and foolish way. I knew a young man who suffered a broken neck while hang-gliding. Such suffering can not be blamed on God.
Some of mankind's suffering comes because of the sins of others. An abusive parent can inflict great pain on an innocent child. An abusive person can inflict pain on his or her mate. Criminals harm innocent people in robberies and home invasions, rapes, etc. In such cases we can more clearly seen the hand of Satan at work. Evil aggressors who make war on their neighbors inflict great suffering on them.
There are some cases where God allows good people to suffer in order to test and refine their faith. Job is a vivid example of this. That book is dedicated to the question, why do the righteous suffer? Suffering helps to put this life and this world into proper perspective. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). This world is not our home, we are pilgrims passing through to a better place (I Pet.2:11). If this life were perfect without suffering and hardships, we would not want to leave it for our home with God (II Cor. 4:17-5:2). Suffering also teaches us to call upon God for help and to depend on him (Ps. 119:67-71). He assures us that he will work all events of life, both good and painful for our ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). JHW
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