Reflection - Respond

One of the most frequent responses to calamity in the world is, ‘why is this happening’? Even people who do not profess faith tend to ask this question when they fall upon hard times. Deep down, we tend to believe there is a why behind our circumstances: if we’re successful, we may attribute our success to hard work or good luck; when we experience crises, our impulse may be to assign blame.

The Bible has a lot to say about cause and effect. Psalm 1 says, ‘Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffer. They are like trees planted by streams of water… In all that they do they prosper. The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away.' The picture painted here is straightforward: the righteous are blessed, the wicked are not.

While many biblical texts express this straightforward view of cause and effect, there are plenty of other biblical texts that do not. The book of Job is about a righteous person who suffers. Jesus was the righteous man par excellence who suffered. What’s more, we’ve all witnessed wicked people prosper! As the Teacher in Ecclesiastes says, “There are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in evil-doing” (Eccl. 7:15).

What are we to make of this? Is the Bible confused about how God operates in the world? Are some biblical passages right, and others wrong? And how should we live?

When biblical passages appear to contradict one another, we must read carefully and with discernment; we are called to humility. Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Often our perception of a situation and our categories for interpreting it are totally misguided. Jesus’ disciples asked him whether it was the man or his parents who had sinned. Jesus replies, “Neither”; the categories that the disciples were using did not apply. Instead, Jesus perceived how God might be glorified in the man’s life.

At the same time, we should not take Jesus’ response to this situation and apply it to every situation under the sun. It would be at best insensitive (and at worst, cruel) to suggest to a grieving parent that the death of their child was ultimately “for God’s glory” or “for the greater good.” Instead, we should follow Jesus’ lead by responding with compassion. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath, because as he says elsewhere, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Mark 3:4, Luke 6:9). Even if we do not have Jesus’ gift for healing, we do have the ability to lament, to pray, to help, and to serve those who are in need. God does not call on us to explain suffering. Instead, God calls us to bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).