NECESSARY EVIL?
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. (Job 14:1)
It was not always so though, nor was it meant to be. From the beginning all God’s creation was pleasing and very good. But as it is with all good things, when you try to fix what is not broken, improve on what is perfect or meddle with things you know nothing about, the end result will be imperfection.
When Eve heeded the serpent (Genesis 3) and took of the forbidden fruit, she thought that she would become like God; knowing both good and evil. Well, as the saying goes, ‘Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it!’
She got what she wanted, and we as a result also got what she wanted: an intimate knowledge of good and, especially evil! Instead of knowing how to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14), we actually experienced evil and its consequences.
All good things were made available to us: The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Tree of life and ‘god likeness’, But all at God’s discretion and in his own good time, for he is not the author of confusion (1Corinthians 14:33) and the one who provides all good things (Mathew 5:45). Adam and Eve were not willing to accept God’s gift under his condition, they chose to seek their own way against his directions. They thus rejected Gods words and forfeited life.
If you received a gift that carried with it instructions on how to receive proper service from it, you would naturally expect that disregard of those instructions would void the relevant guarantees and bring unsatisfactory service. Man’s disregard for God’s instructions in a similar way meant the forfeiture of all the guarantees of life God had intended for him. The result is then, as one might expect, evil.
What is evil? It is that which lacks benefit or profit: that which is unproductive. It is also that which is harmful, hurtful or destructive. Evil however can be moral, that is sinful, or naturally occurring, like an earthquake or hurricane; these are not sinful but nevertheless destructive.
What is sin? It is ‘missing the mark’ that is, not attaining what ever purpose something was designed for. Sin is also ‘crossing of a line set as the boundary’. Therefore a person who disregards the laws of the land is considered lawless or sinful: he transgresses the law. So then sin and evil came about as a result of man’s rejection of God’s requirements of him.
Someone might say then that he cannot see how a good, all powerful God and a loving one at that, could make man that is prone to sin. ‘Couldn’t God, one might say, make man perfect and sinless? Well, the answer would naturally be, ‘He did! ‘Then why, follows the response, didn’t, he prevent man from sinning? Since he did not intend for man to sin’. Well he did not prevent man from sinning for a very good reason and, yes! He could have made man in such away that he could not sin; like the stars that maintain their positions without straying or the earth that produce her fruits abundantly without fail, he could have made man ‘unsinnable’. Even like the animals that perform their duties instinctively or the plants that, without complaint diligently offer themselves for food, man could have been made as such. But somewhere along the way God would want someone like himself created, off springs of his nature, in his own image; personalities that are self determinate, having the power of choice and will. From such he would prefer to receive love and joy even as he gives the same to us of his own free will. It is in the nature of the True Creator to create off spring similar to himself that can, like him, produce goodness and kindness.
It is with this in mind that we were given the godlike ability of choice. Now if we choose the good, well. If not, evil! When we chose to sin we must forthrightly discover evil or destruction, it is a natural consequence of our choice. Interestingly, evil is not all bad because it can lead the sensible to good. Evil or rather its consequences can be quite instructive for the one who is willing to learn. Although suffering is not essentially evil, it is inextricably linked to evil and is often, as was said before, directly consequential. Since evil is destructive its effect on us who are sensual and have personality is suffering. Because of this we can learn to direct our actions from evil because those actions bring suffering.
That is how we learn not to put our hands in the fire, never to kick against the thorns, not to eat foods that don’t agree with us or to hurt other people’s feelings.
The scriptures are full of examples of man interfering with God’s order of things to the detriment of his well fare. Examples such as was mentioned in Genesis chapter 3 speak to this fact. When Abraham took Sarah’s advice instead of God’s promise, the effects would be felt for an eternity (Genesis 16); when men try to worship God by their own doctrines, they worship in vain (Mathew 15:9); and when doctrines of devils take the place of Christ’s doctrine, perdition and apostasy must result (1Timothy 4:1).
The consequences of men’s sins, in the short term are then not just death (although so ultimately) but a means to an end. That is; the wise will take instruction by them; the proud will be humbled; the immature will be disciplined; and the prodigal will repent and return to life.
The saying that the existence of suffering in this world means that there is no God is then fallacious. Rather it is because there is God, and a loving concerned one at that, why we are allowed to suffer!
In fact, the blessing that is found in suffering is summed up in this: ‘yet learned he obedience by the things that he suffered.’ Now although the context of Hebrews 5 vr.8 refers to Christ, the principle in the verse when applied to us is quite relevant in that we learn to practice faith and obedience to God because of the things we are subjected to. That is why Romans 8:20 says that creation was made ultimately unproductive (in the sense of eternally), so that we may not gain any eternal benefit from our sinful lives (See John 4:13&14, the woman at the well). Along a similar line 2Corinthians 12:9 says, ‘…my power is made complete in infirmities (that is, weakness; maladies; sickness). In other words Gods workings in us is made complete through our suffering. Now if we take instruction from our sufferings we will not be condemned in the end with the rest of the world (1Corinthians 11:33&34, Hebrews 12).
There is another side of evil and suffering that is worth discussing and that is the suffering of the innocent and the righteous. Although the innocent and the righteous is mentioned in one breath, their case is far different from each other as shall now be seen, and thus must be treated as separate considerations. For one thing innocence indicates an absence from blame but does not necessarily means that that one practices righteousness. The small child that we call innocent is a case in point. The righteous however, as just indicated means one that stands in a right relationship with God and does not practice evil but good things. But this does not mean that he is completely innocent of all wrong but rather, that he has been placed in such a relationship with God that he may be dealt with favorably, with a view to meeting God’s standard. More will be said on this soon enough.
It is often said in defense of atheism that a righteous and all powerful God could not allow the innocent to suffer as they do in situations involving war; famine; incest; rape; disease and so on. Therefore they say, since such realities exist, there is no God. It is strange though, for people who claim there is no God to assume they know anything about God! Also, what does the claim of innocence assume? Simply that all suffering comes from guilt and is thus retribution for some heinous act! Wrong, very wrong. To avoid getting into a lengthy discussion on the issue, one needs only to look at a simple example of law enforcement. That the enforcement officer is innocent of any misdeed does not exempt him or her from harm at the hands of the fugitive he or she may be trying to apprehend. The danger of hurt simply comes from the carrying out of lawful duties. Another example is that of the athlete, there is no wrong doing on the part of the hard training athlete but, instead admiration is due considering the agony endured in pursuit of his ideals.
In the case of righteous Job, although his friends attributed his sufferings to some wrong he had done, Job was adamant about his innocence. The lesson to be learned from Job though is not whether the innocent should suffer or not but whether innocence itself was a good enough defense. Although God could have told Job that there is none righteous, and that all have gone astray, he did not. In fact he ignored that point and instead asked Job who he thought he was! He asked him a series of rhetorical questions about secrets that only the creator could answer (read Job chapter 42 onwards). His point was that only God was rightly exempt from suffering. All that was created had no basis to claim exemption, and is subject to the supreme will of the one that created them. Consider this also, Christ himself, above all else was truly innocent and yet underwent some of the cruelest form of suffering known to man. What point more than this disallows the idea of the innocent being exempt from suffering. Consider this also God himself in heaven suffers long for the sake of our salvation (2Peter 3:9&15). All this means is that there are many reasons associated with suffering, even for those that we think should not suffer.
Previously we discussed the idea of people suffering because of wrongs they have done. Interestingly if these same persons repented of their wrongs and became righteous, they would continue to suffer. Sometimes even more than before for the following reasons: because of the remaining sinners that rebel against good; the suffering of the righteous proves, refines, tries; fashions and reveals the true nature of his transformation and; the righteous sufferer continues the work of Christ on earth.
If for instance you were a schizophrenic, you would be subject to bouts of manias that may offer experiences such as ‘hearing voices’ and ‘seeing things’: experiencing urges that seriously compromise your perception of reality. In fact, these experiences would sometimes take the place of reality for you, rendering the distinction incomprehensible. Your actions as a result then could often be detrimental to the welfare of those around you and yourself.
You would not be left without a clue however as to the true nature of those experiences. Some where down the line reality would clash with these experiences. Those experiences cannot blend in seamlessly with reality for the simple reason that they are not real. The reactions of your loved ones (to your behavior) and the relevant authorities in most cases would represent those clashes with reality.
Now when these clashes occur, you can either accept them as the guide post or ‘police markers’ of reality that keep you back in bounds, or you can reject them and retaliate against them. In the case of the sinner, he is the schizophrenic and reality will be the will of God and the reactions of the righteous. Thus it is the righteous who will provide the clashes with reality and, sadly, they are the ones who will bear the brunt of the sinner’s retaliation.
An analogy that may make the previous one better understood is this: a criminal gang, making huge profits from illicit drug trading, will resist and subvert any attempt by the police or any honest citizen that oppose their order of business. Never mind the disastrous effects that such activity wreaks on their community that is the least of their concerns. They will continue their illegal trade as long as it remains profitable for them.
If law-abiding people try to dissuade them from continuing their operations, they will not simply realize the error of their ways and have a change of heart; rather, their response is often hostile and violent. So it is in the spiritual realm; the children of darkness will often persecute those of the light, because they see them as impedance to their sinful ways. Thus the righteous do suffer at the hands of the unrighteous, not for some wrong that they have done, but simply for standing up for righteousness. (1Peter2: 19-21 Mathew 5:10).
When the righteous suffers, and stands up well under duress, they are giving a sign that they are saved and that they are indeed righteous (Philippians 1:28). What this means is that suffering serves to reveal the quality of the righteous sufferer (1Peter 4:12). Their ability to stand in the face of suffering is proof that they are truly being transformed from evil to good and are fit to be saved. Suffering also brings the righteous from one level to the next, as they are edified from strength to strength. Suffering builds ones character and shapes his integrity. He becomes sober and focused. Thus the righteous will walk by faith and not by sight.
Suffering also allows true obedience by the believer and enables him to recognize what are the excellent things of God (Romans 12:2). When we suffer for good, we recognize why such things are indeed good, and how much more precious and valuable they are than the temporary, worldly things are. This is why people are willing to sacrifice their welfare, education, family and even life for their country or some just cause, since they recognize what is of lasting value.
Now, when Christ came into the world, he came with an attitude that says, ‘I will sacrifice my life for man (Philippians 2, John 3:16) to the glory of God the Father.’ What this means is that God’s love for man required that something drastic be done for man. It does not mean however that man must be saved from sin without regard to God’s holiness and righteousness.
Yes, man must be saved at great cost but not at all cost. Indeed, with the sacrifice of Christ for man’s sins, must come true repentance by man of his sins, and obedience: obedience that shows man will deny himself to please God. Contrary to the scene in the garden, the scene at the cross proves that man can and will honor God.
Beyond the cross though, each believer must ‘fill up what is lacking (that is, that which remains to be accomplished) in the afflictions of Christ’ (Colossians 1:24). Thus each one must prove God right and just in deciding to save man (2Thesssalonians 1:4&5). Through suffering then, in which we continue to obey God, we show that we deny our selves and sin; declaring God is righteous in saving man. In this also we continue the mission of Christ on earth to save man: Glorifying God.
In conclusion, thru posterity God created man in his own image and, by providence, he supplied him with all he needed for life and godliness in the garden. All that was required of man was obedience to his creator’s will, and he would maintain his estate in the Lord’s grace. But man fell because of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and, the pride of life (John 2:16).
Thus he was tempted, drawn away of his own lust and enticed (James 1:14).
This disobedience then, becomes sin, a deviation or perdition from what was intended, which when completed must result in death. But before that end, creation was made unproductive and the creature, subjected to infirmities (Roman 8:18-24). By these we saw that sin and disobedience was vain and obedience, life giving. Thus our imitating Christ, Our Lord is the way to life and righteousness in God.
Walter