Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? 12 Why were there knees to receive me And breasts to nurse me? (Job 3:11, 12)
Why do you hide your face And consider me your enemy? (Job 13:24)
Why should we be viewed as animals And be considered stupid in your eyes? (Job 18:3)
Why do the wicked live on, Grow old, and become wealthy? (Job 21:7)
Why, O Jehovah, do you stand at a distance? Why do you hide yourself in times of distress? (Psalm 10:1)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you far from saving me, Far from my cries of anguish? (Psalm 22:1)
I will say to God, my crag: “Why have you forgotten me? Why should I walk about sad because of the oppression by my enemy?” (Psalm 42:9)
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and our oppression? (Psalm 44:24)
Why, O Jehovah, do you reject me? Why do you hide your face from me? (Psalm 88:14)
You are righteous, O Jehovah, when I make my complaint to you, When I speak about matters of justice with you. But why is the way of wicked ones successful, And why are the treacherous unworried? (Jeremiah 12:1)
Why did I have to come out of the womb To see trouble and grief, To end my days in shame? (Jeremiah 20:18)
Why do you forget us forever and abandon us for so long a time? (Lamentations 5:20)
How long, O Jehovah, must I cry for help, but you do not hear? How long must I ask for help from violence, but you do not intervene? 3 Why do you make me witness wrongdoing? And why do you tolerate oppression? Why are destruction and violence before me? And why do quarreling and conflict abound? (Habakkuk 1:2, 3)
About the ninth hour, Jesus called out with a loud voice, saying: “Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
It is not difficult to pick out the commonality in all of these scriptures. For thousands of years people have asked why God has permitted wickedness and suffering. It is significant that each one of the persons quoted were not pagans, but instead faithful worshipers of the true God and their inspired writings are included in God’s revelation of his will to mankind. Such being the case, it can hardly be inappropriate for humans to ask the question. (Luke 18:1-8) In fact, that the question appears so often in the Bible is a strong indication that God hears, is aware of and has compassion for the pain that is felt by, not only his worshipers but indeed, all mankind. (Romans 8:22)
That God’s own son himself has also asked this question is proof of his compassion. And how did God respond to the strong outcries and tears of his son? He saved him by bringing him back to life again, restoring him to joyful fellowship. (Heb. 5:7; 12:2) It could not have been easy for God to witness his son’s torture and death. To hear him cry out with the very same question that has been on the lips of so many men, women and even young children. But through allowing the suffering of his son along with the reward he gave, he provided reassurance to all those crying out to him of his intention to undue all the effects of the injustices that they have had to endure. There is no indication that after his resurrection, Jesus suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. But the Bible says he was able to learn from his experience. (Heb. 5:8-10) This places him in position to be a sympathetic high priest. (Heb. 4:15) A priest that will eventually raise those to victory over injustice and suffering, never to experience it again. (1 Cor. 15:57)
But why have people died with their prayers unanswered? When will this relief come? Why has it taken so long? This information has not been completely revealed to us. (Acts 1:6,7) We have hints and clues in the Bible. The Scriptures show that God created man in his own image. This means that humans, like God have the capacity of free will and can choose to love God and live in harmony with his will. But that also means free will can be misused, resulting in harm to others. If God forced people into following a certain course, he would be taking away free will. He could be charged with being an arbitrary dictator.
It would appear then, that much time is needed to satisfactorily solve this problem in a way that, in the end, all intelligent creation will want to look to him as father and follow his guidance. How much time this will take, we don’t know. But he asks us to be patient. (Jas. 5:10,11)
However, since the scriptures do not explicitly spell this out for us this is only one possible reason. We may in time learn how much was truly at stake. We must realize that for an issue to take more than 6,000 years to settle, involving the lives of billions of people and perhaps millions of angels, it cannot be that simple. It must be much more complicated than we have outlined. For now we must face the reality that with this present life comes injustice, pain and suffering yet not give in to doubting God when he tells us he loves us.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
(1Pe 5:6-7 NASB)
Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.
(Mat 10:29-31 CEV)
Have not parents who truly love their children permitted them to undergo a painful operation to correct some problem?
Think of it this way. Have not parents who truly love their children permitted them to undergo a painful operation to correct some problem? Through the decisions of our first parents, the human race is terminally ill and has been subjected to futility. However, it is on the basis of hope. (Ro. 8:20) In a sense, the operation to save us from annihilation requires time. The disease must run its course and it involves a painful recovery. In the meantime, no one that stumbles and loses their faith in God due to tragic circumstances beyond their control goes unnoticed by God. (Matt. 10:29-31; 18:6,7) You will receive an opportunity under much better circumstances in the future with the aid of a sympathetic, kind and understanding high priest to achieve an unending life totally free of suffering. (Rev. 21:3,4)
But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”
(1Co 2:9 ISV)
2 replies on “Why Does God Permit Wickedness?”
Jerome, thank you for that. You wrote..
“ In the meantime, no one that stumbles and loses their faith in God due to tragic circumstances beyond their control goes unnoticed by God. (Matt. 10:29-31; 18:6,7) You will receive an opportunity under much better circumstances in the future with the aid of a sympathetic, kind and understanding high priest to achieve an unending life totally free of suffering.
That is very encouraging.
I have been listening to the meeting that my wife is “tuned into” here down under in the land of Oz. The WT study is all about the resurrection and who goes where..
Really? Yes. The other scripture you quoted says it all:
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”
(1Co 2:9 ISV)
What a waste of time they had in hollow speculation.
Thank you Chez,
Yes, it’s sad to see the society continuing to teach that there are two classes of Christians when the Bible teaches there is only one hope. (Eph.4:4-6)
I placed the post previous to this one on a few Facebook Christian groups in order to gather ideas of how to encourage persons who have lost faith in God due to experiencing tragedy in their lives. It surprised me that it generated so little interest. Instead, the few responses I received focused on Paul’s words in Romans chapter one about God’s wonderful works of creation being clearly evident so that it is inexcusable for anyone to lose faith. I feel this to be a very judgmental and harsh dismissal of what a person may have gone through. I also feel it rather presumptuous to speak for God as to what judgment he would make regarding such ones. It also has the potential for pushing a person farther away from God. In a sense it presents God as saying: “I know you’re upset that I didn’t answer your prayers to stop your father from sexually abusing you but that’s no excuse, just look at all the wonderful things I have made in the universe!
It is incredible how few people grasp the significance of what God has been doing in order to save mankind. I believe even we as Christians have only scratched the surface. Jesus once said that his father has been working up to his day. (John 5:17) We know this included the providing of a seed that would crush the head of the serpent. That seed eventually was manifest in human form as Jesus. God sent forth his son not for him to judge the world but for the world to be saved through him. (John 3:17) If first century Jews had understood this, how could they possibly have contributed to putting him to death? But who knows what other associated things had to be worked out in the heavens for our benefit? Yet people for the most part believe that God has done nothing. Sad.
I think this needs to be preached from the housetops!