In 1.1, we saw we suffer in one way or another because of troubles we encounter in life. We also discovered there’re three main ways humans get into troubles:
- For doing the wrong things
- For doing the right things
- For doing nothing
Let’s explore those troubles we get into for doing the wrong things. We’ll look at the following:
- How we get into these type of troubles
- How they affect us
- How we get out of them God’s way
- The benefits of handling them God’s way
Let’s begin with how we get into troubles for doing the wrong things.
God didn’t create a world with troubles and sufferings. After He created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, ‘‘…God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good…’’ (Genesis 1:31 NKJV).
Many can’t understand how a Great, Good, All-powerful and Mighty God allows so much evil and suffering in the world which He created and controls. Atheists just can’t accept the view there’s a God because according to them if there’s truly a Creator of the universe, He wouldn’t allow evil and suffering. Theologians provide sufficient answers to address these concerns from Atheists. Perhaps the best, in my opinion, is the argument brought forth by Allan, ‘‘The extent of God’s responsibility for evil is that He chose to create a world in which moral evil was a possibility, but not a necessity’’ (Allan Turner).
God left a possibility for evil to enter the world through the command ‘‘but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you shall eat of it you shall surely die’’ (Genesis 2:17 NKJV). Allan says, ‘‘The rest, of course, is history. His creatures did decide to do evil (by disobeying God’s command). Therefore, the origin of evil and the subsequent consequences are to be found in the rebellion of free moral agents against God. By choosing their own self-serving ends, moral creatures are responsible for all the evil that exists in the world, both moral and natural. It was not God, but man, who brought about the corruption of God’s “very good” creation’’.
Rebellion is the root-cause of troubles we get into for doing the wrong things. Rebellion is doing the wrong things, anything that contradict God’s will for us. God didn’t create us as robots. He gave us some liberty to make choices and decisions in life. But He also didn’t make us free will machines that make choices contrary to His will.
When you get employed by a company, you have to report to your manager and work according to the job description and company values. The job description and company values are boundaries that help you stay in line and work towards achieving the company’s goals. You can exercise as much freedom as you want to innovate, generate solutions and even turn things around provided you don’t violate the set boundaries. God’s kingdom also has standards and values. God expects us to use the freedom He has given us to serve Him and work for His glory. Every time we violate His standards, we get out of His will and consequently, invite troubles of diverse nature.
Few examples of people in the Bible who got into troubles for doing the wrong things are Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), Cain (Genesis 4:6-7), humans in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:5-6), the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), Rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16), the Israelites (Judges 2:1-3), Saul (1 Samuel 15:26), Sanballat, Tobiah and his friends (Nehemiah 6), David ( 2 Samuel 11& 12; Psalm 51:3), the Pharisees (Matthew 23), Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-11).
So we can get into troubles for doing the wrong things. It’s known as rebellion. It doesn’t matter whether our rebellion is intentional or non-intentional. We’re rebels in God’s eyes.
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References:
- Allan Turner, The Problem Of Suffering, The E Book Is Internationally Copyrighted By The Author, AllanTurner.Com, Used By Special Permission (OGL/NC) For Indus School Courses Indus School: Resource No 640A1, Indus School Specializes In Offering Affordable Quality Theological Education