We all go through many problems as Christians and face many challenges. The devil is always annoying us and we go through pain and suffering. And it feels like it never ends.
We also live in a world that is full of violence and crime and we hear and read of the atrocious things happening in the world. Some of us have also been victims of assault, theft, and fraud.
We find ourselves asking the question, why does God allow all these bad to happen to good people especially Christians?
Putting ourselves in God’s shoes
But have any of us thought of putting ourselves into God’s shoes?
May you please imagine that you are God and you had to address the following questions:
We are unhappy when God allows bad things to happen to us.
But if you look at most of the bad things that happen they are mostly caused by human beings. (And yes, some of them are caused by people whose minds are being controlled by the devil)
But if God stopped anything bad from happening, then he would be called a tyrant and a control freak.
Because if we want God to stop human beings from doing anything bad, then he must stop all evil and sin from happening. This means that not only murder, rape, fraud, and assault must be stopped by Him. But also lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, pride, gluttony, pornography, cheating and gossiping and many more would all have to be stopped.
We tend to see others as more sinful than us. A murderer is seen as the biggest sinner, but gossiping is not seen as sinful. We hear complaints like why did God allow those good Christians to be killed and 4 years have passed and the murder has not been sent to prison? Where is the justice?
But gossiping can kill a person’s reputation or cause friends to be enemies, or cause discord in the family or even cause someone to be fired from their job. So if God stopped everyone from committing murder, he should also stop us from gossiping like maybe causing our tongues to rot for a week every time we are about to gossip.
If he did this, then the complaint then would be that God wants us to be robots and many will say that he is a tyrant.
So whether God allows bad things to happen or he decided to stop all bad things from happening he will have to face criticism either way and sadly even from Christians.
How should God treat us?
We have all hurt someone. Maybe we did not do anything illegal, but we have shown unkindness, impatience, lied, gossiped about, and deceived others.
Others have committed murder and assault that has caused harm in this life on earth.
But some of us, through our actions have caused others to be disgusted with Christianity and caused people to reject Christ (There are atheists that have looked at our bad behavior and say if that is how Christians behave and speak, then I do not want to be a Christian). Therefore we have affected people not only on this life on earth but also in the afterlife and could be the reason why they ended up in hell!
But we want God to severely punish and stop those who commit horrible crimes, but what about us who have also ruined people’s lives on this life on earth and the afterlife. How should God treat us?
Some of us have not done anything illegal but have contributed to the problems in this world (like poverty and famine) by doing nothing to help lessen them. We ask, why does God allow small children to starve to death, but when was the last time that we contributed money or food to an orphanage or charity or homeless shelter? To those who know god and do not do it, to them it is sin (James 4:17). So how should God treat us?
Have you realized that you are not actually punished for every sin that you commit or at least not always punished quickly? God is patient with people because he hopes that they will change so that he does not have to punish them because he wants them to repent (2 Peter 3:9). If we want God to continue to be patient and merciful to us, then should we not expect him to be patient and merciful to others? (Lamentations 3:22).
I have been angry with God on many occasions and have even threatened to leave him because of the problems that I was facing. I have been frustrated when I have seen him not “dealing” with those who have oppressed me. There are times when the Holy Spirit has spoken to me and told me that I am also not perfect and have often shrugged off the thoughts and told him that most of my oppressors are not even Christians and I worship him and they do not. However, I have been also guilty of many things which were wrong although I knew better. I have wanted quick punishment for others, but mercy for myself.
I am not excusing anyone’s sin or wrong behavior. Violence and crime are inexcusable and should not be tolerated. But we were also part of the “wicked” group. Some of us took years or decades to decide to choose Christ and we got away with a lot of bad things. Even as Christians we continue to do things that are wrong. Imagine if God was not patient with us. Would we be saved right now if he dealt with us as quickly as we want him to deal with others?
So in allowing bad things to happen and being slow to punish those who are guilty, it allows the wicked time to repent and change from their sinful ways. (Ezekiel 18:32) It also gives an opportunity to test how much we as Christians really love God. It tests our faith, our patience, and our loyalty to God.
So in the end, all things work together for God for those who love God (Romans 8:28). All things, meaning both the good and the bad.
So if you were God, how would you deal with the problems in this world and how would you address the 7 questions at the beginning of the post? Would you do things differently?
Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
We also live in a world that is full of violence and crime and we hear and read of the atrocious things happening in the world. Some of us have also been victims of assault, theft, and fraud.
We find ourselves asking the question, why does God allow all these bad to happen to good people especially Christians?
Putting ourselves in God’s shoes
But have any of us thought of putting ourselves into God’s shoes?
May you please imagine that you are God and you had to address the following questions:
- How do you give free will and freedom of choice to humans allowing them to do whatever they want and also stop them from hurting others?
- How do you interfere so that you always protect Christians without the devil accusing them of respecting and loving you because you are always there for them? (Job 1:9-10)
- How do you test whether they have faith in you if they do not encounter problems? (1 Peter 1:7)
- How do you prove that a Christian loves you because of who you are and not because you always do whatever they ask? How do you prove that their love is genuine?
- How do you prove that a Christian will always be loyal to you no matter what if you always answer their prayers? (Psalms 26:1-2, Job 1:9-10)
- How do you improve a Christian’s character if they do not face challenges and learn to overcome them? (Romans 5:3-4, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 2:21, 2 Corinthians 8:2)
- How do you save as many people as possible, if you quickly “deal” with the wicked? (Luke 19:10)
We are unhappy when God allows bad things to happen to us.
But if you look at most of the bad things that happen they are mostly caused by human beings. (And yes, some of them are caused by people whose minds are being controlled by the devil)
But if God stopped anything bad from happening, then he would be called a tyrant and a control freak.
Because if we want God to stop human beings from doing anything bad, then he must stop all evil and sin from happening. This means that not only murder, rape, fraud, and assault must be stopped by Him. But also lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, pride, gluttony, pornography, cheating and gossiping and many more would all have to be stopped.
We tend to see others as more sinful than us. A murderer is seen as the biggest sinner, but gossiping is not seen as sinful. We hear complaints like why did God allow those good Christians to be killed and 4 years have passed and the murder has not been sent to prison? Where is the justice?
But gossiping can kill a person’s reputation or cause friends to be enemies, or cause discord in the family or even cause someone to be fired from their job. So if God stopped everyone from committing murder, he should also stop us from gossiping like maybe causing our tongues to rot for a week every time we are about to gossip.
If he did this, then the complaint then would be that God wants us to be robots and many will say that he is a tyrant.
So whether God allows bad things to happen or he decided to stop all bad things from happening he will have to face criticism either way and sadly even from Christians.
How should God treat us?
We have all hurt someone. Maybe we did not do anything illegal, but we have shown unkindness, impatience, lied, gossiped about, and deceived others.
Others have committed murder and assault that has caused harm in this life on earth.
But some of us, through our actions have caused others to be disgusted with Christianity and caused people to reject Christ (There are atheists that have looked at our bad behavior and say if that is how Christians behave and speak, then I do not want to be a Christian). Therefore we have affected people not only on this life on earth but also in the afterlife and could be the reason why they ended up in hell!
But we want God to severely punish and stop those who commit horrible crimes, but what about us who have also ruined people’s lives on this life on earth and the afterlife. How should God treat us?
Some of us have not done anything illegal but have contributed to the problems in this world (like poverty and famine) by doing nothing to help lessen them. We ask, why does God allow small children to starve to death, but when was the last time that we contributed money or food to an orphanage or charity or homeless shelter? To those who know god and do not do it, to them it is sin (James 4:17). So how should God treat us?
Have you realized that you are not actually punished for every sin that you commit or at least not always punished quickly? God is patient with people because he hopes that they will change so that he does not have to punish them because he wants them to repent (2 Peter 3:9). If we want God to continue to be patient and merciful to us, then should we not expect him to be patient and merciful to others? (Lamentations 3:22).
I have been angry with God on many occasions and have even threatened to leave him because of the problems that I was facing. I have been frustrated when I have seen him not “dealing” with those who have oppressed me. There are times when the Holy Spirit has spoken to me and told me that I am also not perfect and have often shrugged off the thoughts and told him that most of my oppressors are not even Christians and I worship him and they do not. However, I have been also guilty of many things which were wrong although I knew better. I have wanted quick punishment for others, but mercy for myself.
I am not excusing anyone’s sin or wrong behavior. Violence and crime are inexcusable and should not be tolerated. But we were also part of the “wicked” group. Some of us took years or decades to decide to choose Christ and we got away with a lot of bad things. Even as Christians we continue to do things that are wrong. Imagine if God was not patient with us. Would we be saved right now if he dealt with us as quickly as we want him to deal with others?
So in allowing bad things to happen and being slow to punish those who are guilty, it allows the wicked time to repent and change from their sinful ways. (Ezekiel 18:32) It also gives an opportunity to test how much we as Christians really love God. It tests our faith, our patience, and our loyalty to God.
So in the end, all things work together for God for those who love God (Romans 8:28). All things, meaning both the good and the bad.
So if you were God, how would you deal with the problems in this world and how would you address the 7 questions at the beginning of the post? Would you do things differently?
Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
