Understanding Reality

     One of the nagging questions that plagues believers and non-believers alike is "why do bad things happen to good people?"  However, the opposite question should also be asked just as often - “Why do good things happen to bad people?” and “why don’t the wicked get what they deserve?”  The apparent injustice of life on earth has been an issue that has plagued theists and justified atheists for centuries.  Any Bible-believer that thinks God consistently and quickly blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked has neither observed much of life or adequately examined what the Bible tells us.  The truth is that both life experience and the Bible tells us that, in this life, the righteous do not walk in constant blessing and ease, nor do the wicked suffer constantly!  Since our questions begin in human logic and reasoning, so also shall our examination of the situation.

Epicurean Logic

       For many, the ongoing presence of evil is a reason to believe (or toy with) the notion that God is not good, all-powerful, or even there at all.  Many atheists base their faith in the non-existence of God on the problem of evil.  If you go back to pre-Christian Greek thinking, you find Epicurean philosophy emphasizing the non-involvement of the gods in human affairs largely on the basis that evil flourished and endured - their thinking was that if the gods were involved in the world of men, they would surely stop evil.  Keep in mind that the pious Greek mind tended to assume that the premier quality of deity was total exercise of power or actual control and manipulation of all things, thus the gods were viewed as totally responsible for the reality around us.  Entertaining some skepticism about the pious Greek mindset, Epicurus (b. 341 B.C.) reasoned that the gods were either (1) able, but not willing to end evil, (2) willing but not able, or (3) able and willing.  Since evil continued, he leaned toward the powerful but not good” view of the gods and concluded that the gods were not really concerned about human life - i.e. distant and apathetic.  The other conclusion would be that since the gods don’t function as philosophers think they should, then perhaps the gods do not even exist.  Around 600 B.C., a few skeptical Greek philosophers decided to take the atheistic route and, assuming a philosophy of materialism and naturalism as their basis for explaining reality, they initiated the viewpoint we know as “evolution.”^[1]  In a universe where matter and natural processes are all you have to work with, everything that happens is viewed as a meaningless accident.

       Free Will & Maturity - We also need to consider if there might be any valid reasons why a God who is capable of ending evil (good and powerful) would delay His actions?  Are human parents who do not control every aspect of their children's behavior or provide total protection evil or powerless?  Are they evil for allowing their children the freedom to make bad choices, skin their knees in bicycle accidents, or have car accidents?  In this light, most would say "no," because freedom is a necessity in the maturity process and there is probably no cry of the human spirit more consistently voiced than the cry for "freedom/liberty" to make our own choices and follow our own desires.  Perhaps "judgment" is postponed so that evil (deserving judgment) might have opportunity to become an actuality rather than judgment being applied before it becomes a reality (a Tom Cruise movie explored a world in which crime could be anticipated and dealt with before committed - a chilling scenario in itself).  Perhaps accidents, disappointments, and being a crime victim are necessary possible evils in a world where human free will is a reality.  My wife and I could have kept our children in the house for their first 18 years - that would have protected them from many illnesses, accidents, and evil influences and actions from other humans who were not interested in their welfare - but what kind of adults would they have become?  Parents usually choose to not be tyrannical micro-managers over their children in the interest of allowing them to develop wisdom, self-control, and maturity.

       In the business world, top administrators direct the course of the company and cause major things to happen, but they usually do not attempt to manipulate every employee’s thoughts and actions.  Instead, they allow workers some freedom, but always have the authority to step in and act later with discipline if employees demonstrate inappropriate behavior and it is not handled at a lower level.  This does not mean that they aren't "in control" of the company, it just means that those “in control” have chosen a different leadership style than tyranny - attempting minute-by-minute "micro-management" and treating people like slaves or robots.

What does the Bible Say about Reality?

     Many people who complain about how they think God is handling reality need to be better informed about what God's Word, the Bible, says about reality.  Actually, the Bible is very "down-to-earth" and sensible about the realities we face and gives sufficient evidence that we can identify several "realities" about what is happening around and to us.  While describing God as all-knowing and all-powerful, it also describes the incongruities that we struggle with.

Earthly Life is no Picnic

     The Bible gives us a very credible picture of human life, with its sins and virtues, noble deeds, soap operas, and tragedies.  From Genesis alone we can draw many examples of these things that continue to be characteristic of life on this planet:  Adam and Eve violated God’s boundaries and Adam blamed his wife and God for all of it (Genesis 2-3); their son Cain worshipped God with less than his best, developed a bad attitude rather then repent, killed his brother, and complained about his punishment while ignoring the seriousness of his crime (Genesis 4); human society became so evil that God destroyed most of them in a flood (Genesis 6-8); After the flood, Noah became drunk and disgraced himself, while one of his sons gossiped about it (Genesis 9:20-23); post-flood civilization ignored God’s command to disperse and tried to stay together around a flood-proof tower and a campaign to glorify themselves (Genesis 9-11); Abraham put his wife at risk to save his own skin (Genesis 12); Sarai encouraged Abraham to try having children through a surrogate mother (Genesis 16) but later wanted her driven away (Genesis 21); homosexuals gathered to a particular city and Lot left but soon was involved in incest with his daughters (Genesis 19); Abraham pulled the “she’s my sister” routine again with Abimelech (Genesis 20); Esau’s choice of wives grieved his parents Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26); Jacob deceived his father to gain the blessing and had to be sent away because his brother wanted to kill him (Genesis 27); Laban deceived Jacob so as to marry off both daughters, then both he and Jacob took turns lying to/cheating each other (Genesis 29-31); a Canaanite man raped one of Jacob’s daughters and then her brothers treacherously killed the rapist and all of the men in his city (Genesis 34); Joseph was his dad’s favorite and bragged about his dreams, but his brothers sold him into slavery and lied to Jacob about him being dead (Genesis 37).  Judah thought he was consorting with a Canaanite temple prostitute, but really committed incest with his daughter-in-law and then was hypocritical enough that he intended to accuse her of sexual immorality (Genesis 38).  An Egyptian woman tried to entice Joseph to commit adultery with her, but when he refused out of integrity towards God and her husband she accused him of rape and he wound up in jail (Genesis 39).

     On the other hand, we are told of some noble things about humans as well - Abel’s faith (Genesis 4:4), Enoch’s faith (Genesis 5:22-24), Noah’s faith (Genesis 6:8-9), Abraham’s faith (Genesis 15:6), Rebekah was a kind and virtuous woman (Genesis 24:15-28); Esau got over his anger (Genesis 32:6-7; 33:1-9); Joseph’s integrity and faithfulness in Egypt (Genesis 37-50).  These examples from the book of Genesis show us that God has granted humans true free, allowing the wicked and righteous to make real choices and act upon their own worldviews in such a way that there are real results for us and for those around us.

Understanding God’s Nature & Workings

     Imminence vs. Transcendence - At its very root of our questions is a long-debated theological question about God’s “imminence” (involved/connected with creation) vs. His “transcendence” (being other/separate from what is created).  Of course, there are “extreme” positions that say God is so “imminent” in the creation that God IS the sum of creation and nature (pantheism - God is everything/all).  On the far end of the spectrum are those who say that God is so “separate” from creation that He either doesn’t exist (atheism) or doesn’t care about what is going on with the earth and its people (Epicureanism’s apatheia/apathy).  Most of us will find ourselves somewhere between those two extremes, but still wondering why God doesn’t get on the wicked quicker and rescue the righteous sooner.

     We have Biblical evidence that God sees everything going on here,^[2] is concerned about it even to the point of emotional response (Genesis 6:5-6; Hosea 11:8), God is close to those who suffer even if they are not “feeling” it (Psalm 34:18; 147:3; Isaiah 57:15), and that God does intervene at times (the flood, tower of Babel, moving Israel from Egypt to Canaan, in Christ, rescuing Peter in Acts 12, etc.).  We also have Biblical evidence that there are times when God “hides” Himself/His eyes from people,^[3] seems to be “far away” when we are in need,^[4] and refuses to hear prayers.^[5]

     A God of Power or Character? - First of all, we need to ask, “Is "total exercise of power" really the primary quality of God?  If God were exercising total manipulative control over everything that happens (as Greek thinkers assumed), then God would be directly responsible for evil and we should ask those “why did God do/allow this or that . . “ questions.  However, as I have heard it said, there is a big difference between giving your kids roller skates (from which they might accidentally fall down, but also may eventually have a lot of fun with them) and pushing them down.

     The Greeks assumed “power/control” to be the primary characteristic of the gods, but this was not how the God of the Bible portrayed Himself to the Hebrews.  He is not a tyrant, a bully, a sadist, a domineering, manipulative "micro-manager," or a cosmic grand puppet-master.  He truly seems to value "free-will" in His image-creatures and one of the most pervasive of human yearnings has been for "freedom/liberty"!  The God of the Bible described Himself to Israel as a covenant-maker/keeper whose primary characteristics are chesed, (lovingkindness and covenant faithfulness), patience, and love towards His “image creatures” (Exodus 34:6-7; Deuteronomy 7:9-10).  He will judge rebels and evil, but this is not His primary characteristic and focus.

     Erroneous Theology - The notion that God consistently and immediately blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked was the theology Job’s friends kept throwing on him - “Job, you are suffering, so you must have done something wrong!”  The Apostles and Pharisees expressed this belief concerning the man born blind (John 9:1-2,34), as did the Puritans who settled in the early American Colonies, and to some degree the charismatic folks in our time (“God wants us all healthy and wealthy all of the time”).  In this view, illness and poverty are viewed as signs of a lack of faith, righteousness, and God’s blessing, while health and wealth are viewed as evidence that God is pleased with us.

       On the other hand, the Bible presents a consistent testimony that this “knee-jerk” cause-effect cosmic pay-off theology is, simply, wrong!  Since the first sin (Genesis 3:17-19), it has been God’s appointment that all mortals will struggle with thorns, thistles, and physical death (Hebrews 9:27).  The first two chapters of Job inform us that Job was correct and his friends were wrong - he was NOT suffering a divine punishment for any particular sin.  Solomon clearly observed the inequities of this life,

There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility.  (Ecclesiastes 8:14)

Asaph struggled with the apparent wealth and success of the unrighteous (Psalm 73).  The prophet Habakkuk complained about the violence and lack of justice in Judah (Habakkuk 1:2-4).  The Bible tells us that even faithful ark-builders, law-givers, judges, prophets, apostles, and evangelists grow old, have bodily ailments, and die of disease.^[6]  Some of the prophets suffered at the hands of their own misguided countrymen (2Chronicles 36:14-15) and Jesus said it would happen to His followers as well (Matthew 5:10-12; 23:34; John 16:1-2).  Some of God's most faithful Mosaic Covenant people suffered persecution and hardship “because they were faithful” (Hebrews 11:35b-40).  Jesus repeatedly denied any consistent, direct connection between anyone’s external circumstances and their spiritual condition (John 9:1-3; Luke 13:1-5) and specifically stated that physical blessings are not selectively parcelled out to the righteous,

"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  (Matthew 5:44-45)

 "And in the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. "  (Acts 14:16-17)

Innocent men may be put to death when ruthless politics invades and neutralizes the justice system.^[7]  The Bible is very clear and consistent on this - between the curse upon creation and the new heaven and earth disease, suffering, and death will be a part of things and they will NOT be clearly selective in terms of spiritual condition - the evil may seem to get away with everything and the righteous may seem to have it harder.  I believe that we must conclude that the outward conditions that humans encounter in this life do NOT nicely coincide with inward spirituality.

       Potential for Misunderstanding - Certain courses of life carry with them higher odds of blessing or trouble over time and gaining wisdom can be very helpful in finding better paths of life, but God does not award a “gold star” or a paddling to each individual at the end of each day as proof of how we are doing spiritually.  Thus, delayed punishment for a crime tends to encourage criminals to do more evil and can also make it necessary to remind the righteous that virtue really is the best long-range path,

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.  Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.  (Ecclesiastes 8:11-12)

Asaph almost surrendered his virtue from seeing the success of the wicked, but he did recover his perspective (Psalm 73).  I am sure that first century A.D. Christians struggled with the lure of continuing sin around them and Paul felt the need to remind them that returning to and/or continuing in sin was not a good option and doing so would eventually bring them to judgment rather than salvation,

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.  And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.  But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.  There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  (Romans 2:1-10)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1Corinthians 6:9-10)

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (Galatians 5:19-21)

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.  For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  (Ephesians 5:3-6)

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.  For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.  (Colossians 3:5-10)

Preaching morality and righteousness in a world where sin and selfishness seem to pay off so well has always been a bit difficult.  However, the life of sin does have serious drawbacks in the present and future that often go under-emphasized in the Devil’s advertising.

Basic Categories of Causation

     We do need to get some kind of a grasp on the principles concerning how God interacts with human life on this planet and the Bible provides some useful information for this.  Biblical information and observation allows us to sketch out some broad categories that will help us to organize our thinking about why things happen as they do.

Divine Purpose and Decision

       First of all, some things happens because God wants them to happen and causes them to come about without any human participation in the decision.  The Bible indicates that God is capable of controlling and manipulating things,

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. (Psalm 115:3)

The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. (Psalm 135:6)

However, we must be careful that we do not determine ahead of time that God actually desires and intends to control and manipulate everything.  However, to be sure, the Bible indicates that there have been situations - actually a rather limited number - in which God determined what would happen and then made sure that it did happen - on His own!  There have been and will be some things that God does because He wants to and humans can not thwart, block, or postpone these things.^[8]  The list of things that God willed and caused to happen could begin with these: {1} the creation of the universe (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11), {2} the Assyrian conquests were God's judgments upon sinful nations (Isaiah 10:5-6; 37:26), {3} those who accept Jesus to be the promised Messiah and obey Him then become God's children by His power (John 1:12,13), {4} the miraculous credentials and sacrificial death of Jesus (Acts 2:22-23; 4:25-28), and {5} the joining of Jewish and Gentiles Christians into one new body, the Church (Ephesians 3:1-11).  Certainly the creation of the universe, the flood, the final judgment, the resurrection of the righteous, and a new heaven and earth are things that will happen because God decides and wills that they happen and human input does not effect whether or not and how they will occur.  However, setting the stage (creation) and occasionally intervening to cause certain major events is very different from the notion that God has an all-encompassing blueprint for every thought, decision, and act by every human being and powerfully manipulates everything to happen as it does.

Divine Purpose and Human Decision

     A second set of circumstances can be identified in which God declares His will and purpose, but He allows humans to provide significant input into what actually happens.  There are things which occur because of human choice that are certainly NOT what God willed or desired.  We know that God wants all people to repent (2Peter 3:9) and to come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (1Timothy 2:3-4), yet Jesus said that many would not be saved (Luke 13:23,24) and He identified a number of reasons (things originating in human will) as to why this would not happen,

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  (Matthew 23:37)

And when all the people and the tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.  But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.  (Luke 7:29-30)

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.  (John 5:39-40)

And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.  (Acts 13:46)

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,  (Romans 2:4-5)

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.  (Romans 10:1-3)

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  (Ephesians 2:1-3)

This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.  (Ephesians 4:17-19)

knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,  (1Peter 1:18)

God’s will is not done on earth because of human ignorance, human stubbornness, and the power of inherited patterns of living in human culture - traditions!

     Consider the issue of righteousness and sin.  God told Adam where the boundary line was (Genesis 2:14-15), but they were capable of both obedience and rebellion and it was not long before curiosity, external deception/temptation, and their own foolishness got Adam and Eve into trouble (Genesis 3:1-6).  God met with Israel at Mt. Sinai to establish a covenant and to influence them so that they would not sin (Exodus 20:20), but rebellion began before they even left the mountain (Exodus 32).  Often in Scripture we encounter the doctrine of “the two paths,”^[9] where God lays out the two major options for how human life can be lived and what final result is attached to each path, but the choice of which path to walk is ours!  God wants His commands and laws to be obeyed, yet Biblical history reveals that He has given man sufficient (limited) autonomy and freedom of will/choice to go wither way, with both obedience/submission and disobedience/rebellion being real options.  It is up to humans to determine "where" they will "direct their hearts" (1Samuel 7:3) and our hearts can be influenced by others (1Kings 11:2,4).  People can follow God with "all of their heart" (1Kings 14:8; 15:4; 2Kings 23:3,25; 2Chronicles 31:21), follow "half-heartedly" (1Kings 15:4; 2Chronicles 25:2), or rebel and reject God from having any place in their thinking and lives.  Each human chooses whether or not to "set their heart" on serving God and then their lifestyle and actions demonstrate what they are truly committed to (1Chronicles 22:19; 2Chronicles 12:14; 19:3; 30:19; 36:13; Ezra 7:10).

     Numerous passages demonstrate that humans have the capacity and responsibility to choose their own path in life: (1) to live in such a way as to “find favor/be pleasing” in God’s eyes,^[10] or (2) to live in a way that disappoints/displeases God in much the same way that disobedient children disappoint their human parents.^[11]  Hosea (6:6) was cited by Jesus (Matthew 9:13; 12:7) in reference to how human religion often prefers empty ritualism over heartfelt loyalty!  As we cited above, people often forfeit God’s blessings because they "were unwilling" (Matthew 23:37), "rejected God's purpose for themselves" (Luke 7:30), "repudiated God's purpose and judged themselves unworthy" (Acts 13:46), or failed to appreciate God’s kindness because of a stubborn and unrepentant heart (Romans 2:1-16).^[12]  So, there are those situations in which God's "will, desire, wish" is expressed to humanity, but people are allowed to decide on how they will respond to God’s expressed will for them (although their choice will still have larger ramifications as it will result in God’s blessing or punishment).  In the long run, human rebellion is pretty stupid if/when God’s punishments arrive, but we are still allowed to choose that option!

Human Desire and Divine Permission

       There are those situations in which humans originate an idea and God allows us to pursue it.  The earthly Israelite monarchy was a human notion that God warned about, but allowed and set some guidelines for it (Deuteronomy 17:14-20; 1Samuel 8:1-8) and eventually brought to an end through the Assyrians and Babylonians.  David compared his palace to the Lord's 400-year-old Tabernacle and decided to construct a "Temple" building to house the ark (2Samuel 7:1-3).  God responded that this was not His idea and David was not the man to build it, but the project was ok'd and assigned to David's son, Solomon (2Samuel 7:4-13).  The point is that humans came up with the ideas for copying their earthly neighbors' political structures and Temple buildings and God allowed Israel to try these things, but always with warnings of where it would probably lead (1Samuel 8:9-22 & 1Kings 9:1-9).

       Here also we would find many of the smaller details of life for which God has not given specific revelation.  Paul told an audience in Lystra that God had allowed many nations and peoples to wander culturally and spiritually in past times (Acts 14:16).  Paul told his audience in Athens that God had made humans and placed them in the world within some boundaries with the intention that we would seek Him out and the last chance for getting serious about this had arrived (Acts 17:26-31).  We can come up with many "plans" as to what we want to do in the assumed future, but we are warned to keep in mind the brevity of human life, God's will, and God’s ultimate sovereignty over us as we do so (Ecclesiastes 11:9; Luke 12:15-21; James 4:13-15).  So, God allows us a great deal of freedom, but will hold us accountable for how we use it.  Biblical warnings mark out paths that we may be allowed to pursue, but which are not good for us and will eventually lead us into trouble.  We have many plans that God allows us to pursue - for awhile.

"Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices."  (Ecclesiastes 7:29)

Human Desire and Divine Refusal

       There are also situations where humans come up with an idea, but God refuses to allow human freedom to develop in that direction and intervenes to end what would have happened otherwise.  Examples of this would be God's response to Adam and Eve's rebellion (Genesis 3:22-24), post-flood mankind's plan to stay in one place (Genesis 11:1-9), Israel's aborted attempt to enter Canaan after God had determined 40 years of wandering (Numbers 14), and Paul's inability to preach in Bithynia or Asia Minor (Acts 16:6,7).  God may sometimes be "barring the way" for some course of action that we want to take and when our planned course never opens to us, then we should probably approach it in accordance with Romans 8:28.  It is OK to have some plans, but we should also be flexible enough to the realities of life that we do employ our spiritual abilities in the best available situation and let God handle the long-range planning and over-all strategy.  The worst thing for us to do would be to become obsessed about “getting our own way” and waiting for one particular situation to develop to the point that we fail to do the good that we could be doing in some other area.  Thus, when his plans to preach in two specific areas were thwarted by God, Paul moved on into Macedonia and Greece and thus the entire European mission began, with new groups of believers started in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth (Acts 16-18).  God was not keeping Paul from preaching as much as He was moving him into a new area.  When we ask for God to guide and lead us, we need to remember that He may need us in places other than where we ourselves wanted or planned to go.

Nature and Humans are “Semi-autonomous”

       First, let’s be clear about what I am NOT saying!  By saying that nature and humans are “semi-autonomous,” I am not denying God’s ultimate sovereignty/authority over what He has created.  What I am saying is that Scripture and observation (from our limited perspective) of how things seem to operate leads me to the conclusion that God created a natural system that is capable of operating on its own for awhile, without His continual miraculous “tinkering” to make it work.

       Semi-Autonomous Nature - Western science is not in error when it identifies “normal cause-effect patterns and processes” in the natural order, but it is very much in error when its spokesmen present their own materialistic and naturalistic philosophical beliefs (that “nature” is all there is and that intervention into the natural order - i.e. miracles - is impossible) as being “scientific fact” or truth.  There are some natural realities in this world (death, diseases, accidental injuries, weeds, gravity, centrifugal force, inertia etc.) which influence the general consequences of physically living in this world and all of us share in those,

"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  (Matthew 5:44-45)

Nature and its systems are semi-autonomous in that they can function (apparently in a gradually declining direction toward disorder) without constant direct manipulation (like an automobile engine turned on and supplied with gasoline on a test block).  However, the Creator does hold sovereignty over the natural universe and can intervene into the natural order to change the speed of natural processes (providence), bypass them altogether (miracle), or stop the processes altogether (end of the universe).

       Semi-Autonomous Human Life - In the same way, much of human life seems to take place in a “semi-autonomous” fashion - humans are free enough and capable of doing tremendous good or terrible evil to themselves and others.  We are “free” in the sense that, while in this mortal life, we can choose to honor/obey God and treat others with respect/kindness or ignore God and treat others with ruthless savagery.  Mankind tends to divide into two major groups according to foolishness and wisdom, with fools recklessly and arrogantly bouncing from problem to problem, while the wise learn to avoid a good deal of the available danger,

The naive believes everything, But the prudent man considers his steps.  A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless.  (Proverbs 14:15-16)

However, our “semi-autonomy” (freedom to choose/act) can be limited by our own abilities/talents/fears/lack of confidence/choices/opportunities/ circumstances, by other humans, and by God if He chooses to oppose and limit our freedom in this life.  Our freedom is also limited by the fact that God will hold us accountable at the end of our time-space existence on this planet.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,  (Hebrews 9:27)

       When we run afoul of our own foolishness or the evil/careless actions of others, we wish God would intervene.  Sometimes, we do something stupid and then blame God for the predictable results,

The foolishness of man subverts his way, And his heart rages against the Lord.  (Proverbs 19:3)

However, there have been few yearnings of the human heart as consistent and strong throughout history as the desire for freedom to think and act as we wish!  Dangers from semi-autonomous nature and other creatures is what we usually complain about, yet we also love that same semi-autonomous limited freedom dearly.  In a semi-autonomous world, humans can experience the sorrow of failure, rejection, and physical pain from other people and from natural calamities/accidents.  However, it this same situation that allows us the opportunity to experience the thrill of victory, the love and warmth of companionship, and physical pleasures.  While spiritual separation and alienation are possible, we also have the opportunity to experience spiritual harmony and reconciliation with God.  Nature will lose its semi-autonomy when God closes the store and builds a new one (2Peter 3:10-13) and humans will lose their semi-autonomy when God calls all to judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Multiple Causes/Sources of Evil

     God holds ultimate authority over the creation, but He exercises this authority by intervening when necessary to keep His larger purposes on track and to bring rebels to judgment when He chooses.  Rather than blame God for every evil thing that happens, we need to identify some other key players in bringing evil into the picture.  There are two basic types of evil: natural evil refers to the undesirable things that happen as we run afoul of the powers and processes of nature (storms, gravity, speed, friction, disease germs, etc.).  Moral evil occurs as a result of free-will creatures acting foolishly, carelessly, recklessly, selfishly, ruthlessly, and/or for evil purposes under the leadership of the Evil One.

     The Natural Universe is under a curse - Originally, humans were given more control over the natural order (Genesis 6:26-28).  However, after the first humans rebelled, God put the ground (earth?) under a curse and it no longer cooperates with us as it once did,

To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."  Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.  "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."  (Genesis 3:16-19)

"Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth."  (Genesis 4:11-12)

Later on, the Apostle Paul referred to this as a curse of futility/slavery to corruption that God placed upon all of creation,”

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  (Romans 8:20-21)

What we might call “natural evil” occurs when semi-autonomous and cursed natural processes catch us in the wrong place and the wrong time - in the path of severe storms, flooding, extreme heat or cold, etc.  Sometimes we can move out of the way of danger and sometimes we cannot.

       What is going on with the natural order?  Well, certain things like pain in childbirth, harder work, weeds/thorns, and physical death were decreed as consequences for human rebellion (Genesis 3:17-19; Hebrews 9:26) and the original “natural order” changed a bit - Paul referred to it as a curse of “futility/corruption” (Romans 8:19-22).  While God can intervene to change something in the natural order or to preserve the life of someone with a crucial role in His plans, the normal situation seems to be that God allows the natural side of mortal life, the predictable natural patterns that we can learn from and be injured by, to unfold.

       The Serpent - God created the world “very good” (Genesis 1:31), but then something happened.  Genesis 3 opens up with mention of “the Serpent” who was “subtle/crafty” or functioning without boundaries, willing to do anything.  The “rebellion” began with a high angel who became prideful and I think this is the point of Ezekiel 28:11-17, which names the king of Tyre but clearly seems to describing someone greater in the background that was “in Eden / the anointed cherub who covers / on the mountain of God.  The Serpent/Devil/Satan (Revelation 12:9) appears occasionally throughout Scripture, bringing accusation against Job (Job 1-2) and Joshua the Priest (Zechariah 3:1-2), tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11), speaking through Peter (Matthew 16:21-23), and deceiving the world through an organized structure of evil.^[13]  Jesus called him a “liar and murderer” from the beginning (John 8:44).  This spiritual adversary is identified as a major influence in why Judas betrayed Jesus (John 13:2) and Ananias and Sapphira to chose to lie to the church (Acts 5:3).  Some of our trouble comes from a powerful spiritual enemy that tempts and deceives us, as well as instigating lies, initiating accusations against believers, and even causing murders (Pharaoh, Athaliah, and Herod killing off children).

       Human Rebellion/Sin - Although the Serpent raised questions and offered false promises about what rebellion could do for humans, both our original parents and all who have followed their example have chosen to rebel and “go our own way” (Isaiah 53:6a).  The Devil does not “make us” do sinful things, but he does encourage us to (1) question God’s goodness/justice and make moral decisions upon our own perceptions alone (Genesis 3:1-6), and (2) to pursue satisfying our own lusts in unrighteous ways (James 1:13-15).

       “Sin” is the undesirable but necessary potential counterpart of freedom, and freedom presents us with the potential to either love God and our fellow-man or ignore God and use/abuse our fellowman.  For love to be meaningful, hate must be a possible option.  For obedience to be meaningful, rebellion must be a possibility.  For selflessness to be meaningful, selfishness must be a possibility.  For God to intervene and stop every “evil” thing, we would have to give up that which may be our most constant demand through history - “Freedom”!  “Moral evil” is rooted in the moral choices of human beings and these choices result in sin, rebellion, selfishness, foolishness, carelessness, and the results often splash over into the lives of those around us.  Being self-centered, careless, and reckless can also increase the likelihood of encountering problems.  Ignoring natural processes and patterns can increase our chances of being hurt as we stumble into predictable situations with gravity, centrifugal force, inertia; sexual promiscuity, etc.  Not only can we hurt ourselves by carelessness and foolishness, but we can also hurt others who are doing nothing wrong or risky (drunk drivers, careless gunfire, passing on a disease, etc.).  God’s “image creatures” have great abilities and potential, but these can be misused for evil - human computer skills can be employed to hack into systems for criminal purposes and write/spread computer viruses and worms just out of sheer meanness.

       Our free will and “image creature” abilities can also be used in a positive way.  Human wisdom and knowledge (about the natural order and human sin) can lead us toward better circumstances, as learning from mistakes and “being careful” can improve our lives.  Human computer skills can also write enjoyable and useful programs, user-friendly operating systems, and anti-virus software.

       Don’t excuse Human Responsibility - If we attribute direct manipulative control of all things to God or Satan as our way of explaining everything that happens, then we excuse ourselves from having any personal responsibility for what happens and blame it on someone else: (1) "why did God do this to me?," (2) "why would a loving God allow such and such to occur?," or (3) “the devil made me do it!”  However, the Bible is much more realistic about life's problems and portrays a good deal of human suffering as coming from the irresponsible actions of other humans.  Rather than blame God for everything, we should lay a sizeable portion of the blame where it belongs - in the evil thoughts, lies, murders, thefts, sexual immorality, etc. that originate in our own self-centered hearts (Matthew 15:18-19; 19:7-8).  God doesn’t fire the gun or drive the car that hurts innocent bystanders or victims, but He has granted His “image creatures” enough responsible freedom that we can serve God and our fellow-man or abuse and use others for our own selfish purposes, we can choose to live responsibly or recklessly.

Why do good things happen to evil people?

     This was the other question that we should ask when pondering the inequities of life.  Our question about the suffering of the righteous should be balanced with the other question - “why are the unrighteous often successful, comfortable, and untroubled in this life?”  This also has long been a concern of mankind.

Why dost Thou stand afar off, O Lord? Why dost Thou hide Thyself in times of trouble?  . . . For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.  The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."  His ways prosper at all times; Thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.  He says to himself, "I shall not be moved; Throughout all generations I shall not be in adversity."  His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.  He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.  (Psalm 10:1,3-8)

For I was envious of the arrogant, As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat.  They are not in trouble as other men; Nor are they plagued like mankind.  Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.  Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot.  They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.  They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.  Therefore his people return to this place; And waters of abundance are drunk by them.  And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?"  Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.  (Psalm 73:3-12)

Righteous art Thou, O Lord, that I would plead my case with Thee; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with Thee: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?  (Jeremiah 12:1)

Thus, we are in a long tradition of those who have observed this fact and wondered why the wicked are not dealt with quicker.  Sometimes, the wicked prosper because of fortunate circumstances and natural, God-given talents that are being misused.  However, unfortunate circumstances can also overtake the unrighteous soon on the path of wickedness as well as later.  God reduced human life spans from 900 to 70 years as a response to human evil and, thus, physical death will catch up with even the worst of criminals and after death they will face the judgment of God, in which no lawyer tricks, technicalities, or plea-bargains will be allowed (Hebrews 9:27).

     The answer given to the Psalmists and prophets should put this into perspective for us as well.  They were told to wait a little while, for the present fleeting earthly pleasures of the wicked (unless they repent) are all of the good they are ever going to get, for death will overtake them and their fun will be over for eternity (Psalm 37:7-15).  Asaph entered the Temple and looked at the situation from God’s perspective - the unrighteous are already walking on dark and slippery paths and eventually they will be gone - forever (Psalm 73:17-20).  Why does God allow them a lifetime on earth of apparent success?  Because we have sufficient freedom of will and action that we can abuse it and live for material prosperity and selfish physical now.  However, God is merciful and does not want any to perish, hoping that in this “grace-period” they will turn/repent and find life (Ezekiel 18:20-32; 2Peter 3:9,15).  God’s patience with the wicked is the opportunity that the prodigal son embraced (Luke 15:11-32).  We want the wicked to get justice, but most of us have repented and found salvation because God did not give us justice at the first instant we deserved it either.  However, do not be deceived by the apparent lack of justice towards the wicked, for justice is merely being postponed because of God’s mercy.  God has already selected the day for judgment and we are all hurtling towards it (Acts 17:30-31).

       Unless we are guilty of sin or foolishness, “Why did God cause/allow this or that to happen?” is probably not the right question for us to ask most of the time, because the Bible teaches that God probably did NOT specifically cause or do this or that to anyone!  By revelation we know that God does specifically cause certain events,^[14] but these seem to be exceptions more than the rule in Scripture.  There are times, probably most of the time, when God just leaves people alone for awhile to see what they will do (2Chronicles 32:31).

       Truly, the sovereign Creator has the power to make all creation do His will, but from what we read in Scripture and observe in the real world, I have concluded that God does not manipulate all things by use of His power.  God created a good world (Genesis 1:31) and tried to advise humans about the best path for life (Genesis 2:15-17; 4:6-7; Exodus 20:12,20; Psalm 19:6-11), but He does not force humans to do His will, even His covenant people.  God wants all people to repent (2Peter 3:9) and be saved (1Timothy 2:3-4), but not all will be saved because of their own choices and actions (Luke 13:23-24; Acts 13:46).  God’s sovereignty is demonstrated not by manipulating every event throughout history, but by eventually bringing all rebels to judgment.

When and Why does God Intervene?

       My survey of the Bible over the last 30 years has brought me to the conclusion that God allowed the world’s nations to go their own ways until the first coming of Jesus, although they had the witness of providence (Acts 14:15-17) that they could ignore, suppress, or misinterpret (Romans 1:18-20).  When sin first entered the world, God promised to bring a Savior into the world through a particular lineage and identified this lineage in Genesis and 2Samuel.^[15]  It is my belief that most of God’s miraculous interventions came in connection with protecting and directing the people involved in this Messianic line - protecting the wandering Patriarchs, rescuing Israel from Egypt and getting them into Canaan, judging but preserving Israel during the era of the Judges and Kingdom era, and then specifically protecting the tribe of Judah through the Babylonian exile until Jesus was in place to die as a sacrifice.  Once the promised Savior came and did His sacrificial atonement work, then the whole world became responsible to acknowledge the Son before final judgment falls (Psalm 2; Acts 17:24-31).

       Life is not “fair” and the Bible reflects these inequities very honestly.  However, the Bible also points to a Promised Savior that would come into the world to provide forgiveness, a renewed relationship with our God and Creator, and eventually a renewed creation without the curse.  The evidence points to Jesus of Nazareth being the One promised.  the most important question for us to understand is not “why is God allowing this or that to happen to me?” but “Why did God allow Jesus to suffer and die”?  For when you understand why Jesus suffered and died, you will begin to understand the major issue in life - what Jesus’ suffering and death can mean to your present and future!  So, the most important question has to be, what will you do with the claims of Jesus?

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Charles E. McCoy

December 15, 2005

A Ministry of Severn Christian Church (Severn, Maryland)

Unless otherwise noted, all material produced by Charles E. McCoy

All Scripture citations/quotations from New American Standard Bible

To send a question to Chuck: chuck@severnchristian.org