Are you calling evil good?

What possible purposes could God have for evil? Why would He allow suffering? The accusation is that all suffering is bad and any suffering at all is capricious, gratuitous, unnecessary, and, of course, wrong. Is that so? Well, first, in answering that question, you have to realize that the accusation is wrong-headed, assuming that humans are the ultimate value. In truth, all creation is contingent. All creation is based on God, is held together by God, derives any value it might have from God. If we make the mistake of applying our standards (which, by the way, seem to be varied and arbitrary), then we stand in judgment of the Creator to whom we owe our very existence. But is there any reason to think that suffering and evil is anything but capricious? Is it possible that there is actual value in suffering?

I think we can suggest a few possible gains from suffering, but I need to start with the reminder that, in the final analysis, it's not about us. The question comes from the perspective of "Why would God make a world that includes evil?" and the answer is in God's hands. If God is Sovereign and if God is good, we can trust that this is the world God intended to accomplish His purposes, and some of those purposes are not about us. Still, I think we can find some value on our end.

One of the top reasons that we should appreciate suffering in this world is that it keeps us from getting too comfortable. It's a real problem with humans, actually. We get comfortable in life and we, oh, so easily, tell God in word or deed, "It's alright, God. I can take it from here." I mean, think about it. If all we had was happy all the time, who would need God and who would want to leave? Heaven would be almost moot.

Another value in suffering is that it seems to bring out the best in people. We may be bickering and fighting and pounding the table for having things our way, but have someone in the room suddenly cry out in pain and all of our selfishness seems to slip away. We want to help. Look at the horror that is the earthquake in Haiti and look at the response from a world that is intrinsically evil. Help came from everywhere because people, normally bent on their own interests, suddenly found a good reason to help others.

Suffering is a good tool for building appreciation. Every parent that has ever taken small children to the mall likely knows how this works. For a moment you lose sight of that little one while you're distracted. Whether he or she is actually missing or only missing in your mind for a moment, that little one is suddenly of supreme value. Shopping, entertainment, exercise, all that you might have gone to that mall for are gone. And when you find that that little one, you are so grateful. Expand that to so many other applications and you'll see what I mean.

One thing that suffering certainly does is make us dependent. We must not say, "It's alright, God. I can take it from here." There are too many problems in this world to chance that. We need to be connected to a higher power to get through these difficulties.

I know in my experience painful events have served as a purification process. So often I've lost things dear to me only to discover that they were more dear to me than they should have been. I've allowed them to come between me and my God. Or perhaps it is a process of correction. Sometimes suffering is a result of judgment, what the Bible refers to as chastisement from our heavenly Father. That correction, the Bible says, isn't pleasant, but "later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).

Another useful outcome of suffering is what is called by some "a pool of pain". As an example, a parent who has never lost a child is not as well equipped to comfort a family who has lost a child as a parent who has. Or, here's how Paul puts it:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (1 Cor 1:3-4).

Suffering, then, builds sympathy and actually can serve to connect us to people with whom we may not have been connected.

One of the clear biblical reasons for suffering is that it associates us with Christ. In 1 Peter 4 he writes, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:12-13). When we suffer for being Christ's followers, we share in Christ's suffering. According to Peter, this is the will of God for us (1 Peter 4:19). Paul considers suffering for Christ's sake a gift (Phil 1:29).

I'm just scratching the surface here, and these are just about benefits to us. God has designed this world to accomplish His purposes. Because He is gracious, even when others intend it for evil, He intends it for good. The world may not like it and we certainly won't be able to always point to good reasons, but the bottom line is always the same. God is good. God is Sovereign over all that happens. Therefore, all that happens is good. If you don't see it that way, the problem isn't God; it's your (or my) perception.