Hurricane Hugo. The crash of Pan Am flight 103. The wanton shootings at a Texas restaurant. The killer typhoons in Bangladesh. The Black Plague. The Holocaust…. The list could go on and on. And the question is, “Why?” Why does God allow such seemingly senseless pain and suffering and devastation to occur with such regularity throughout the world? Why?

Some go so far as to question or even reject the very existence of God because of all of the evil and suffering present in the world. How are we to answer those who raise such questions?

There is a very simple, straightforward answer that we could give from Scripture: “O man, who are you who replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus?” (Rom. 9:20). In one sense this should suffice. Nevertheless, I believe Scripture affords us additional insights into the question of why God allows evil and suffering. In Part I of this article, we considered this question as it applies to believers in Christ. We noted that God allows the Christians to experience trials of pain, suffering, sinful offenses by fellow humans, etc. for our growth in patience and faith and dependence on the Lord. Now we shall consider a few points with regard to the evil and suffering found in the world at large.

1. Those who argue against the existence of God, or the active interference of God in the universe He created, usually begin with the assumption that if there were a God, He would be good, and therefore would not allow all of the evil and suffering to exist. Goodness is certainly one of God’s prominent attributes (Exod. 34:6; Psa. 107:8,15,21,31), but by no means His sole attribute. God is also holy (Isa. 6:1-5) and righteous (Rom. 1:17,18), and an avenger of evil (Psa. 89:32; Amos 3:2; Rom. 12:19). Therefore, we could equally ask the opposite question, “If God is holy and hates sin, why has He allowed so many millions of sinners to live such long and prosperous and pleasure-filled lives?” Indeed, one of the psalmists was puzzled by this observation: “I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men…. They have more than heart could wish” (Psa. 73:1-19). Could it be that the wrong question is being asked? Instead of asking why God allows so many so-called innocent people to suffer, we might rather ask why He allows so many guilty, sinful people to live long lives and seemingly prosper.

2. God allows evil to exist in the world because of, not in spite of, his goodness and longsuffering. “The Lord … is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). If God were to begin today to get rid of all of the evil and the sin in the world, where would it all end? Indeed, who of us would be spared? But could not God restrain the really bad evildoers—the Hitlers, the Stalins, the Saddam Husseins, the terrorists, the mass murderers and rapists, and spare the rest of us who are only small-time sinners? Yes He could, but again, where should he draw the line? Those responsible for the murder of ten but not nine? those who have raped 20 but not 19? Or how about everyone guilty of those offenses stated in the Bible as being punishable by death? Okay, that includes murder (Gen. 9:6), rape (Deut. 22:25), adultery (Deut. 22:22), hitting one’s father or mother (Exod. 21:15), cursing one’s father or mother (Exod. 21:17), allowing one’s domestic animal to get loose and kill a man or woman (Exod. 21:29), practicing idolatry or witchcraft (Exod. 22:18,20), deceiving and being hypocritical (Acts 5:1-11). Would drawing the line there make everyone happy?

3. What does the Bible say about evil? Why, that it has invaded all mankind, every part of man from head to foot. It is found in our thoughts (Gen. 6:5; Ezek. 38:10; Mark 7:21), eyes (Prov. 23:6; Matt. 6:23), mouths (Psa. 50:19), lips (Prov. 16:30), tongues (Psa. 34:13; Jas. 3:8; 1 Pet. 3:10), hearts (Gen. 8:21; Jer. 11:8; Luke 6:45), and feet (Prov. 1:16; 4:27). With our evil tongues “bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men” (Jas. 3:9). In our evil hearts we find “unbelief in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12). In our evil thoughts we are puffed up in “pride and arrogancy” (Prov. 8:13). In our evil imaginations we are deceitful (Prov. 12:20). With our evil eyes we hasten “to be rich” (Prov. 28:22; see also Eccl. 5:13). To carry out our evil deeds we love “darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). We may be tempted to condemn those men and women who have committed gross acts of evil leading to pain, suffering, and death for large numbers of people. But let us be mindful of the evil that lurks in our own hearts, and that at times pops out (usually through our tongues) and results in hurt and alienation. If one is reading this who has “an evil heart of unbelief,” who has rejected God’s provision for your soul’s eternal salvation, you are not only going to bring unspeakable suffering and anguish upon yourself for all eternity, but you may also bear some responsibility for failing to warn and deliver those in your sphere of influence (such as spouse and children) from the same judgment. The atrocities that Hitler and Stalin are commonly blamed for affected man’s present life on earth. But there are millions of tiny Hitlers and Stalins out in the world who, not content with their own unbelief and rejection of Christ and of the Word of God, are actively or passively leading others down the same path that will affect man’s welfare for all eternity. Should God eliminate the few big “Hitlers” while tolerating the millions of tiny ones?

4.1 believe it is appropriate to say that all suffering in this world relates in one way or another to the fact of man’s Fall—of sin being in the world. There is no evidence of pain or suffering on the part of either man or beast prior to the Fall. But notice the immediate effects of the Fall: fear (Gen. 3:8,10), blaming others (3:12,13), pain in childbirth (3:16), husband-wife tensions (3:16), and difficulties, obstacles, and hard labor in everyday work (3:16,17). Often our suffering stems directly from our own sins, bad habits, bad attitudes, unbridled tongue, etc. Obvious examples include AIDS as a result of illicit sexual activity, lung cancer as a result of a lifetime of smoking two packs a day, loneliness as a result of losing all of our friends (and maybe even our spouse) through constant complaining, criticizing, or foul language. Often our suffering stems directly from the sins of others, for example, acts of murder, rape, theft, slander, gossip, or caustic criticism against ourselves or our loved ones. Or on a larger scale, many people may suffer from the sins of others when those sins lead to wars, acts of terrorism, pogroms of persecution, pollution of the environment, heedless wasting of natural resources, etc. Further, we find many examples in Scripture of God bringing down judgment upon cities, nations, and on one occasion, the entire world because of gross and persistent sin. For example, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of widespread sexual immorality (Gen. 18:20-19:29); the Canaanite nations were purposed by God for destruction (although Israel failed fully to carry out God’s purpose) because of their wicked idolatry (Deut. 7:5); and God sent a flood upon the earth which destroyed every human (except the eight in the ark) because “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:1-7; 7:21-23). So we can see that much of the pain and suffering experienced in this world is directly a result of sin. Even though an individual may be suffering directly as a result of the sins of others, yet in it all God is constantly trying to remind mankind that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), so that all might be led to “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). This is brought out in Luke 13:1-3: “There were present at that season some who told Him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them. Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you. Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

5. What about the calamities that are not caused by man’s sin—the killer hurricanes, typhoons, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, disease epidemics, etc. As we see throughout the book of Revelation, even these so-called “natural” disasters may be used by God to bring judgment upon the earth ; or to awaken mankind to their need of turning to God. It has been said that pain and suffering are God’s megaphone to sinful men and women to deliver them from something far worse. The Lord gives us an example of a natural disaster intended to awaken the hearts of those not directly affected by the disaster: “Those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4,5). This passage helps us to see that when people suffer it is not necessarily God’s punishment of them personally for particular sins. But at the same time the suffering is a consequence of the fact that sin is in the world at large. So the question that we need to ask in the face of natural disasters is not “Why did they die?” but “Why are you and I still alive?”

6. What about the little children, too young to understand anything about God, who suffer tragic deaths? Or what about the teenager or the man or woman in the prime of life who suffers an untimely death or debilitating injury? “It is so senseless,” people say. “Where is God when all these things are taking place?” Yes, these are indeed real tragedies and real sorrows for the loved ones. And yes, if this present life of 70 or 80 years (Psa. 90:10) is all there is, then it is senseless. But if this life is a drop in a bucket compared to eternity, then maybe it is not so senseless; maybe it doesn’t make so much difference in the ultimate scheme of things whether one lives 10 years, 30 years, or 105 years on earth. This present life is a sort of rehearsal for the real “play” that will go on for eternity. We know from Scripture that the infants who die will be taken to heaven and enjoy an eternity of bliss (2 Sam. 12:23; Matt. 18:10,11). And for those who are older, the important thing is not how and when we die, but that we are ready to die.

7. Whenever one is tempted to ask, “Why is God allowing me to suffer so much?” it is well to remember that any suffering we are called upon to experience is miniscule in comparison to what incarnate God Himself suffered on the cross of Calvary. If we think, “It isn’t fair that I should have to suffer so much more than other people,” we should also consider the fairness of Christ’s suffering on the cross for our sins, when He Himself was holy, pure, and sinless. Again this brings us back to the point that God allows pain and suffering in people’s lives to help them to think about the far greater pain and suffering that His Son endured for their sakes—that thereby they might find salvation.

In the next issue, if the Lord be not come, we will consider another related question: “How can God create man with the capability of sinning and then turn around and punish the sinner for eternity?”

FRAGMENT In this war-ravaged world . . . where ghastly atrocities declare “man’s inhumanity to man,” the faith of many people has been shaken!… Why does God remain silent?…

For almost 20 centuries the heavens have been silent. … On behalf of His own praying people, God has, at times, shown His hand in power for the benefit of individuals. But from a national and international point of view, the silence of 20 centuries has never been broken. …

It is the most fortunate thing for us that He is silent. If He were not, we would hear Him in His wrath and His sore displeasure…. God is silent in order to give men the opportunity to repent and come to Him….

It is the goodness of God that enables Him to look patiently, silently upon a sorely distressed world in rebellion against Him… in order to give more people the opportunity to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and to bow in adoration and worship before Him. (From “Why Is God Silent”.)