The Unmentioned

You know, it surprises me sometimes how much we act like children throwing tantrums.

"If God's so perfect, why doesn't He make the world a perfect place? Why does He let people all over the world suffer needlessly?"

"Why does God continue to let me suffer? I've tried praying, it doesn't help. If He loves me, why won't He help me?"

These are all questions I've been asked more than once by friends who question my faith or the faith their families have tried to pass onto them.

Of course, they don't want the same tired old excuses: "God works in mysterious ways"; "God's just testing us"; "It's all part of God's plan". So over the years, I've struggled to find a better answer.

"The truth is," I tell my friend, "God's just doing what any good parent would do."

"He knows that if He always gave you what you wanted, you wouldn't appreciate it. You'd just expect it to be there, like the air that you breathe, and you wouldn't think it was anything special."

"Think about it. When you were a kid, whenever you wanted something really bad--like a toy you desperately wanted for Christmas--your parents made you wait for it, right? If they got in the habit of buying it and giving it to you as soon as you wanted it, then eventually it just wouldn't feel the same. Getting that thing you wanted just wouldn't be quite as magical. If you never knew disappointment, how could you ever truly appreciate satisfaction?"

"Well," says my friend, "What about the people who are starving, like those people in Africa? Why doesn't God help them? They don't want toys, they'd be happy just to have something to eat."

The question becomes more complicated at this point. But the answer remains relatively simple.

"True," I say, "But if God suddenly cast food to them from the sky like rain, then what would happen? People everywhere would call it a miracle, and then every time people were suffering like that, anywhere in the world, they'd expect another miracle to solve the problem. If God kept granting such miracles, eventually, they wouldn't be miracles anymore. People would become lazy and depend upon God to solve all their problems for them. They'd lose their will to live for themselves, and become so complacent that they'd just drift through life waiting for the end without doing anything. Sometimes, the best of intentions can lead to the worst of consequences. God knows that."

"God hasn't abandoned them. He's shown the world that they are suffering, and given us the means to stop it. It's our own fault if we choose not to walk the path laid before us and help them. Lots of people have answered that call. And lots of people haven't. It's our choice."

"Again, God's acting like a good parent. He's giving us the opportunity to live our own lives. What kind of parent would He be if He forced us to do whatever He wanted us to do all the time?"

My friend falls silent. Then, with a sigh, says "Life's not fair."

I look at my friend and say, "Thank God for that. If it was, we'd probably all be damned."