Church thoughts to chew on for April 11, 2010: Why Does God Allow Injustice?

Posted By Hup | April 11, 2010

thoughtstochewon

This week I wanted to get back on track with writing our ‘used-to-be-weekly’ Church Thoughts to Chew On posts because whenever we write one of these up it allows us to really think about the message that was talked about during church and give our thoughts on what all was said. Also, I want to make sure that I’m extending out the message to others who may (or may not) want to hear it. A lot of questions about God, Jesus, Christianity and other things that most ‘religious’ people don’t talk openly about are discussed every single week at our church, so I feel like it’s up to us to do our part to communicate that message to our social circle of family, friends and co-workers and we both feel like this blog is a great way to do that.

After all, just like our Pastor Gary says at the end of every service, the most important part of what we do as a church isn’t what we do during the services each Sunday, it’s what we do once we leave and continue on with our day-to-day lives. Stephanie and I couldn’t agree more.

This week’s message was about a topic that I think a lot of people question Christians about: Why does God allow injustice?

>> What is Injustice?
Before we talk about this some more in detail I think that I should clearly define what injustice actually means. It’s one of those words that we all probably hear a lot in everyday conversations and news, but one that we probably have never taken the time to research. Injustice is defined as acts or conditions, brought forth by forces of natural or human evil, that result in people suffering hardship or loss undeservedly.

So, according to this definition injustice can be split up into two different buckets, human and natural and although each of these types are open to some interpretation, there are some basic injustices that belong to each. Here are a few examples so that you can get an idea of what I’m talking about:

Human Injustices: Murder, terrorism, war, discrimination, job loss, sexual abuse, infidelity, crime, cruelty, sinful behavior

Natural Injustices: Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, birth defects, learning disabilities, diseases, addiction, infertility, chronic pain, untimely death

>> Why Deal with the Issue of Injustice?
Both of these types of injustice result in people suffering hardship or loss undeservedly (with some obviously affecting more than others) and each are caused by either a human or by some force of nature. Both are also very hard to explain and neither of them are easy to deal with and as Christians it would be very easy to simply skip over the tough subject of questioning why God allows these types of things to happen and never really deal with it. But, it’s something that we do need to discuss and here’s why:

1. Faith is hindered by it (many believers drift away from God as a result of injustice)

2. God is misunderstood (many people think that God only hands out flowers and lollipops, which isn’t true. His plan is not all what we, as a culture, would consider to be good, but it’s the plan that will make us into what He wants us to be.

3. Suffering is inevitable (as you can see every single day on CNN or any other news station suffering is happening all over the world and is inevitable, so as Christians we need to try  to understand why it happens and what God’s intentions are with it)

>> So Why Does God Allow Injustice?
Now that we have a good understanding of what injustice is and why we need to talk about it, it’s now time to dig into the real question — why does God allow these terrible and unfair injustices to even happen in the first place? Why does he allow children to get molested? Why does he allow for tsunamis to take thousands of people’s lives? Why does he allow us to become addicted to drugs? These are all great questions to ask and believe it or not they’re actually questions that Christians are more than free to ask God about (how awesome is that? ).

Here are three main reasons why God allows for injustice to happen:

1. It is just a consequence of the fall: If you’re not sure what the fall of man is, it’s when Adam and Eve decided to go against what God had told them to do and ate the fruit from the tree in the garden of Eden. Although this story is usually condensed down to a child-like version, this is the beginning of evil entering into both human beings and the Earth. This evil was caused by both Adam and Eve rebelling and being tempted by Satan due to the fact that God had given them both free will.

Before the fall Adam and Eve felt no embarrassment, no shame, no pain and definitely no injustice, but the moment that they ate the fruit that all changed in an instant. This is the reason why both Adam and Eve both noticed that they were naked once it happened — it was due to the fact that they were no longer the perfect beings that God had intended them to be.

Here are some Bible verses that help support this first reason:

And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. — Genesis 3:22

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. — Genesis 3:16-17

2. It is a useful part of His loving Ultimate Plan: The injustices that we deal with today are a part of God’s Ultimate Plan, which basically has three main sections.

  1. Evil/Brokenness: This is the section that started with the fall and all of the time of brokenness, sin and evil that followed.
  2. Redeeming: This is the section that started with the coming of Jesus Christ, continued on with his death and resurrection and continues up until now. This section is obviously highlighted by is the fact that God gave up Jesus as a way to forgive us for our sins. This section is filled with both sin and injustice, which are all part of God’s plan to restore us to the perfect beings that we were created to be.
  3. Restore: The final stage is when all believers will be gathered to heaven — let the party begin!

3. It develops character and intimacy with him: Although it never seems like it at the time, God brings these various types of injustices into our lives with a plan in mind. This plan might not be realized for many years to come, but that’s where faith and trust in Him to guide you along the best possible path comes in handy.

An example of this is could be someone who had a terrible drug addiction getting through the injustice and turning it into a way to counsel and help others who are going through the same issue. God uses these injustices to help us build character, to help us build our faith and to help us realize that we aren’t in charge of our lives — He is.

Here are some Bible verses that can give you some more insight into this third reason:

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. — Romans 5:3-4

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. — 2 Corinthians 1:9

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. — Psalms 34:18

Well, that’s enough for one Sunday — please let me know if you have any thoughts on any of this, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

—–

If you’ve read through this and you’re questioning how exactly you accept God’s free gift of grace and forgiveness and are ready to make that commitment, then please read on!  There is no “magic prayer” or exact wording that you need to pray.  It’s as simple as admitting to God that you are a sinner, and there is nothing that you will ever be able to do to merit forgiveness.  Believe that Christ, God’s son, came to earth to die on the cross and take our sin upon Himself.  Believe that He rose again on the 3rd day, and is alive today.  Dedicate your life to God and invite His spirit into your life.

If you have dedicated your life to Christ after reading this, then please don’t stay silent.  Contact us or someone that you feel comfortable with and tell them!  It’s a long road ahead but it’s a wonderful one, filled with hope, love, and new beginnings.

Also, each of these weekly messages can be streamed/downloaded on iTunes for free. Click here to open up the podcast in iTunes now!

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    9 Talkies! to “Church thoughts to chew on for April 11, 2010: Why Does God Allow Injustice?”

    1. yana on April 13th, 2010 12:11 am

      Hi, I’ve read through you post and I disagree. I believe that all Human and Natural Injustices you list are simply down to physics, biology, chemistry, economics, mental health issues, human irresponsible behaviors, accidents, lack of education, and greed. Maybe a drug addict is here to counsel and help others going through the same issue, but most certainly his addiction is a product of his own stupidity. There’s also a scientific explanation for any natural disaster, and its worth remembering that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

    2. Stephanie on April 13th, 2010 7:42 am

      Thanks for your comment Yana. It’s important to remember that as Christians, we believe that “God is is over all and through all and in all”- Eph. 4:6
      That being said, God is above all of the science and natural occurrences of the Earth. The human ‘irresponsibility, greed’ are results of the fall (when sin entered the world)-Gen.3 Because God is a just and loving God, He has given us a free will to choose our own actions, but because we live in a sin ridden world, those actions have produced such consequences. This is why it is extremely important to not have the misconception that God causes injustices to happen as punishment i.e. hurricanes, earthquakes, birth defects. He uses these occurrences, however, for good in his perfect will.

      I realize this can be difficult understanding to grasp (free will, yet God’s ultimate control)This is a concept that requires much more study and research to better explain. I appreciate your thoughts and discussion!

    3. John on April 14th, 2010 5:44 am

      LOL @ god being above science.

    4. Greg on April 14th, 2010 7:38 am

      I like this post Stephanie.

      I have a friend whose parents turned their backs on religion because they blamed God for having cancer (which they both fully recovered from, ironically). Ignorance is bliss. Many people are content with a false feeling of self-reliance and worldly knowledge.

      John, you laugh at God being above science, yet the institution of science wasn’t around in the time of the Bible. Thus the gospels and the Word can’t be fully criticized or interpreted in scientific terms. God predates people who predate the man-made institution of science. Does that mean science is wrong? Not at all. Just putting things in perspective.

      Yana, you say addictions are the result of individual stupidity? Do you know anyone with an addiction? Maybe that person was indeed stupid, but that was a pretty ignorant, sweeping comment IMO.

      God realizes we have pitfalls. We give in to temptation and sin. Sometimes we do things that we have to in order to fight addictions, mental illness, our upbringing, culture and so forth. God’s in the business to love and forgive. God is good!

    5. John Doe on April 14th, 2010 11:49 am

      Saying “God is above science, etc.” is a cop-out when you consider all of the scientific evidence that suggests the existence of a God to be extremely unlikely.

      Also, you said “the institution of science wasn’t around in the time of the Bible.” Do you honestly think that if it was (around in that time) that there would even be a need for a Bible or any other religious hub bub?

    6. Greg on April 14th, 2010 12:16 pm

      Hey John Doe,

      Science is a creation of man, regardless if it’s true or false. Science can’t explain God = men can’t explain God. Instead of recognizing the possibility of God you’re quick to deny Him. Why is that?

      It’s a possibility that, if science was around back in Biblical times, the things you question could have been verified as truth by scientists. Miracles that can’t be explained by science still happen today.

      Check yourself before you wreck yourself ;)

    7. yana on April 14th, 2010 11:49 pm

      Greg,

      With reference to your first comment, why did the parents of your friend blame God for their cancer? Is it possible that they did not have the knowledge that causes of cancer range from cell abnormalities to radiation to genetic reasons to exposure to carcinogens? Perhaps it was easier to blame God? I dont know the story but I do know that cancer is not caused by God rather by biological and chemical processes within a human body- and not only human by the way, all living organisms get cancer including trees. I do agree with your statement “Ignorance is bliss”, however in the context that their ignorance was that they were quick to blame God for their misfortunes, when in fact there is noone to blame.

      The institution of science as we know it today may not have been around in the time of the Bible, however Astronomy was around long before Christ and the Bible came around. In fact thousands of years before Christ people identified the Sun as their God and created myths around the Sun and the stars which proliferated into the Bible and the story of Jesus Christ as we know today. Please remember that the Bible is a book written by MAN!

      Addictions, IMO, are most certainly the result of ignorance, unless of course the substance consumed was forcefully administered to someone, or has been used to alleviate a certain symptom- like morphine use in cancer patients. Anyone who is an addict has made a decision at some point in their life to take a drug (or whatever else it may have been that they are addicted to). Therefore they are the only ones to blame, save for cases mentioned previously.

      As regards your second comment, yes science is a creation of man, just as the bible is. The only difference is that science provides theories that can be proved- whereas the bible provides history that cannot be proved and lays down rules on how one must conduct their life. The bible is therefore the first form of government known to man.

      I am also curious to hear about the miracles that happen today which cannot be explained by science.

    8. Greg on April 15th, 2010 4:49 am

      Sounds like you have everything figured out Yana. I won’t bother you with any additional nonsense.

    9. jan on April 19th, 2010 7:04 pm

      Just wanted to let you know how much I have appreciated these notes! In regards to some of the comments above…just remember John 15:18-19 as well as 2 Thessalonians 9-12.

      Love to you both:)

    What do you want to tell us, hmmm?