The tragedy at the Sandy Hook elementary school evokes a universal question, “Why did such suffering happen to the innocent and defenseless of our society?” Even closer to home, the daughter of Erv Miller, a man who has done extensive remodeling and repair to our structures at Trails End Ranch in Colorado, died on Thursday (1/31/2013). Her death was the result of a genetic disorder whose final consequences were known in advance, but that can hardly make the passing of a child any easier. Why do bad things happen to the innocent, or as the disciples asked nearly two thousand years ago, “Rabbi, who sinned…that he would be born blind?”
“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?’ 3 Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him’”. (John 9:1-4)
“Why Bad Things Happen to Good People” is a universal question men have asked from creation. In one sense the answer is straight forward and easy to understand, while on the other hand, the explanation is quite complicated and the specifics much more elusive. At least Adam was privileged to have an answer, “Cursed is the ground because of you,” (Gen 3:15).
It can be said with some certainty that sin is the primary source, if not the only source, of suffering. If Adam had not sinned in the Garden, suffering on the magnitude we observe would not occur. It was only as a result of Adam’s sin that the ground became cursed, “In toil you will eat of it…till you return to the ground…for you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” (Gen 3:17-19). The close relationship between sin and suffering is expressed by the words of the disciples, “who sinned…that he would be born blind.” For the disciples, the first century Pharisees, and even the friends of Job, there was a simple cause-and-effect relationship between sin and suffering. The Jewish Sages assumed that all suffering, in some way or another, resulted from sin:
“There is no suffering without iniquity, for it is written, ‘Then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with strip,’ (Psa 89:32). There is no death without sin, for it is written, ‘The person who sins will die,’” (Ezek 18:20). (b Shabbat 55a)(Everyman's Talmud, 1949 Ed, page 111).
SUFFERING THAT RESULTS FROM SIN
In the gospel accounts, Jesus often associated the suffering of an individual with the sins of that individual. When healing the paralytic on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven,” (Matt 9:2). To the man who was lowered by his friends though the roof of Peter’s house Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven,” (Luke 5:20). The words of Jesus clearly angered the teachers of the law who said, “who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). Not only did Jesus demonstrate that He has the authority from the Father to forgive sins, He validated the understanding that personal suffering can originate from personal sin. After healing the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, Jesus warned the man,
“Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you,” (John 5:11).
In the story of the man beside the pool of Bethesda, Jesus directly connects the suffering of this man to the man’s own personal sin. Later in the gospel of John, Jesus defends a woman caught in the act of adultery. After the woman’s accusers have left, Jesus said, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." (John 8:10-11). For a second time, the apostle John gives us an example of personal suffering that originates from personal sin. The stories from the gospel of John summon the reader to examine his own life and “sin no more.” The Book of John is the favorite gospel account of many believers because of John’s emphasis on love and grace, but John also provides some of the strongest correlations between personal sin and suffering.
The association between sin and suffering is consistent with the biblical principle of “measure for measure,” reflected in the words of Moses, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,” (Ex 21:24). The Jewish sages said,
“All the judgments of the Holy One, blessed be He, are on the basis of measure for measure.” AND “There is no suffering without iniquity.” (Ibid)
The correlation between sin and suffering is reflected in the epistles where Paul wrote, “whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption,” (Gal 6:7-8). The ultimate reaping of sin results in death, as Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death,” (Rom 6:23), and “death spread to all men, because all sinned,” (Rom 5:12). James tells us, “Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death,” (James 2:15).
Although personal suffering originates from personal sin, the lifetime smoker who contracts cancer for example, much personal suffering results from the sin of other individuals or the collective sin of the community where a person lives. More often than not, it is difficult to connect a particular sin to a subsequent form of suffering although people try to make that connection all the time. Sin and its related consequence can be compared to one person who dropped a stone into a lake. When only one stone is dropped, it is easy to connect the subsequent ripple to the original stone. However, when multiple stones are dropped, the subsequent ripples interact with one another both altering and magnifying the original ripples into waves. It then becomes impossible to connect a wave at any location in the lake to the originating stones. In the same way, the complex interaction of many individual sins impacts a community in ways that are difficult to comprehend.
In the nation of Israel, all the people were held accountable when the leaders believed the evil report of the ten spies, not the good report of Joshua and Caleb. Whether or not each individual in the nation believed the account of the ten evil spies, scripture tells us that “the congregation,” i.e. Israel, complained against the LORD, (Num 14:27). As a result, all of the individuals twenty years old and older were condemned to wander for forty years and die in the wilderness, expect Joshua and Caleb. Even the righteous man Lot, “felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds” (2 Pet 2:8), of the people he lived among. In the first century, it was the leaders who condemned the people of that generation by saying, “His (Jesus) blood shall be on us and on our children,” (Matt 27:25).
The strong sense of “community” among the Jewish people is derived from their common ancestry, their common salvation, and a third aspect, the common accountability of one Jew for another. When a single individual, “Achan son of Carmi,” took some of the devoted things during the conquest of Jericho, the LORD proclaimed not just Achan, but “the Israelites acted unfaithfully,” (Josh 7:1) and “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant,” (Josh 7:11). When David sinned by numbering the people, all the people of Israel became subject to judgment, “wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering,” (1 Chron 27:24). Ultimately, all men suffer because we are part of a larger community that sins, though we do not always understand the interaction of each sin.
Abraham Lincoln saw the Civil War as a judgment on the nation for the sin of slavery. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln connected the death toll of the war to the suffering of slaves.
“Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God will that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ‘the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.’”
Few of the men who died in the civil war owned slaves. Yet, Abraham equated the blood of those who did not own slaves as payment for the sin of slavery. So it is today. We suffer for our sins and also for the collective sins of our community where we allow sin to thrive.
(to be continued. The underlying document for this post continues to evolve. Any comments that helps this evolution of understanding are appreciated - Scott)
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