Summary: The word “gospel” means “good news” but throughout history and even in our own life, we see people suffering pain and sorrow from wars, acts of nature, accidents, and human injustice. When these things happen there are those who blame God and wonder why he would allow such things to happen, especially since he’s supposed to be a loving being and that nothing is impossible for him to do. This article seeks to answer this question, not from a biblical point of view but from a worldly perspective.

The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.is that” (John 3:16).

The word “gospel” means “good news” and the good news is that God sent his only begotten Son to die so that we might not perish. However, many see this as bad news because they say, “If God loves us that much, then why does he allow so much suffering in the world?”

Throughout history and in our own life, we see all sorts of suffering and sorrow. There are things that people do to others that inflict both physical and emotional pain, and there are natural disasters, often referred to as “acts of God” or “acts of nature,” such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, famine, etc.

Then there are diseases such as colds, diabetes, Alzheimer, liver failure, cancer, and a very long list of other physical ailments. And as if all of this wasn’t bad enough, there are things called accidents where people can be seriously injured from a variety of circumstances, either through the carelessness of others or themselves, or just by a freak chance.

When we hear of people suffering because of calamities such as these, especially if it’s someone we love who is in pain, it’s natural for people to blame God, because in their grief they can’t understand why he would allow people to suffer. The fundamental question people have is, if God loves us so much, and he has the power to do whatever he wants, then why does he allow so much pain and suffering to exist in the world?

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe we once lived in a perfect environment called heaven where there was no pain, sorrow, or sickness, and where not even the slightest degree of evil could exist. As such, we didn’t know what pain, sorrow, or evil was, but neither did we really understand what happiness was because without knowing sorrow we can’t really appreciate happiness.

Therefore, to truly understand anything, we must know its opposite, otherwise “righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad…[nor]. happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.” And if that should be the case, there would be no purpose to living (2 Nephi:11,12).

But that’s what we, as members of Christ’s restored church believe, however, there are far more people who don’t accept these beliefs, and even among those who do believe what the Bible teaches, many of them still struggle to understand why a God who cares for everyone with a perfect love, and is so powerful that nothing is impossible for him, allows people to suffer. Therefore, it is common to hear people say, “I can’t believe in a God who is so mean and heartless,” or “What good does it do to pray to a God who allows bad things to happen to good people?”

For these people, giving an answer from the Bible is almost meaningless. Then what can we say that will help others understand why pain and evil exists if there is a God? The only way is to reason with them from a worldly perspective.

The first problem most people have is their concept of who God is. It’s very common to refer to God as “our Father in heaven,” however, most people think of him as our “servant in heaven.” Too many people have the attitude that if God loves us so much, then he should give us whatever we want, and if he doesn’t do that, then what’s the point in praying to or even believing in him?

If a child felt that way about their parents, we would have no trouble describing them as being selfish and immature. No parent likes that kind of behavior in their child, and even though a parent will love them, they will not be pleased with that kind of attitude. And if we came across someone else’s child who behaved that way, most people would look disapprovingly upon them.

Yet, when we view God as someone who is supposed to give us whatever we want, and when he doesn’t, we say in anger, “I’m never going to have anything more to do with you,” that’s like a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum. What makes this kind of attitude even worse is when they completely disregard all the good things God has already done for them. For example, instead of punishing us for being ungrateful for all the blessings God has showered upon us, he is patient and merciful to us as he continues to bless us.

So the first thing we have to understand is that God is not our servant. He is our Father, and wise fathers don’t always give their children everything they want. If God is wiser than us, then there are going to be times when what we think we want is not wise, and in that case, God’s loving answer to our request is going to be, “No.”

What we also have to realize is that children don’t tell their parents what to do because, since parents are wiser than their children, they decide what is in their best interest. Therefore, a wise child will trust their father’s decision, precisely because they know their father loves them and is doing what he feels is best for them. On the other hand, an immature child thinks they know more than their parents and gets angry and argues with them when they don’t get what they want.

But why is it wrong to expect a loving God to protect us from harm? Isn’t that the duty of a parent?

Suppose a child is outside playing and falls down and scrapes their knee. Is it the father’s fault they got hurt? What if a child is climbing on a tree and falls, which results in them breaking a bone? Should that child blame their father for not protecting them from getting hurt? What if a bully at school gives another child a bloody nose? Is the child’s father to blame for not keeping them from being harmed?

No reasonable person would say that the father was negligent in caring for his child in such circumstances, and it is just as unreasonable for people to blame God when they suffer pain. There are many things that happen in life that we have no control over, and sometimes bad things are going to happen. As the saying goes, “That’s life!”

But when a child does get hurt, their natural instinct is to run to their parents for help, and the parent then does what they can to care for their child’s wounds. However, even with the best medical attention, the pain is not going to disappear instantly. All a parent can do is care for their child as best they can and give them comfort and support, but after that, it’s up to the child to deal with the pain as best they can.

Even so, there are some who will turn away from God when they’re hurting, instead of seeking his help. And when the pain doesn’t instantly go away, there are those who will feel it is useless to believe in God and choose to have nothing more to do with him even as he is trying to comfort them.

But, if God is so powerful, then why can’t he make the pain go away, or better still, prevent the hurt from happening in the first place?

Let’s answer that by asking another question. How would God go about preventing us from ever getting hurt? The answer is, the same way any father would do it, which is to put them in a perfectly safe place and never let them leave.

To illustrate this, let’s look at the examples we used earlier of a child who skins their knee or who breaks a bone from falling out of a tree, or who gets a bloody nose from the school bully. There is a very simple way that a father can protect their child from these kinds of pain, and that is to put them in a very safe room, with nothing that could ever possibly cause them any kind of harm, and never let them out of that room.

Would we want God to do that to us, where he doesn’t allow us to do anything, or go anywhere, or be around anyone who might injure us? Instead, God does give us commandments that tell us what things we can do to be safe, and what things we should avoid that will cause us harm. However, God leaves it up to each one of us to decide for ourselves whether or not we want to do what he says.

But as we all know, most people don’t like doing what God says because they feel it keeps them from doing what they want. Some even resent God telling them what they should or shouldn’t do, and yet these are often the very people who blame God when something goes wrong in their life. In other words, they expect God to keep them from getting hurt but then refuse to follow God’s rules for being safe. This is like the person who wants to have their cake and eat it too.

But there is value in pain, because it teaches us lessons we can’t learn in any other way. For example, when a five-year-old falls and scrapes their knee, they may feel like this is the worst thing that has ever happened to them, but in time they learn that the pain will go away, and that knowledge helps prepare them to deal with worse things in life. More than that, it helps make them more cautious so they don’t get hurt again.

There is a common expression that says, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and if God took away all the pain, he would also be taking away our ability to learn and grow. As children of God, we tend to focus on the here and now, but God, like every good father, looks at the larger picture of what will benefit us in the long run.

This is no different than in school when teachers give homework assignments. Most children complain about having to do them, and many times find excuses for avoiding them, but the teacher knows that these assignments are critical in helping their students gain a better grasp of the subject.

In the same way, the things we suffer in life are God’s homework assignments meant to help us grow in knowledge, wisdom, and inner strength. But in our immaturity, we blame God for not taking away the very tools we need to become a better and stronger person.

But why does God allow people to do bad things? Why can’t he stop people from hurting others?

Again, we can answer that by asking the question: How is God going to stop people from doing bad things? The only way he can do that is by controlling their behavior, and when he does, then they are not free but are slaves, doing only those things that their master allows them to do.

We already do that here on earth. It’s called totalitarianism, which is where an all-powerful, supposedly all wise government tells us what we can and cannot do because of what they think is best for us. But would we want to worship and love a God who only allows us to do what he tells us?

Someone might argue that we only want God to control just the bad behavior of some people, but who decides what is “bad” behavior? Certainly murder, rape, and torture are bad, but what about stopping people from drinking to prevent them from killing or severely injuring someone from driving drunk? And how would God prevent people from robbing or stealing from others? How would God stop people from spreading false rumors or bullying people or gossiping where someone’s reputation is ruined?

The point is, where do we draw the line as to what is considered “bad” behavior? All of us have done things at one time or another that has injured someone, either physically or emotionally or both. We’ve all said or done things we’ve later regretted.

God has told us how he wants us to live, but most people don’t want to follow what he says. To prevent people from doing “bad” things. God would have to control each one of us to where we can only do those things he feels is good, but is that what we really want him to do?

Of course not. What we want is for God to control others, but not us. However, that would be unfair, and could we have faith in a God who is partial and shows favoritism? Most people wouldn’t mind that as long as it benefits them, but they would loudly complain if God treated others better than them.

God has commanded us to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12). This is not a commandment meant for just religious minded people to follow but is the best way for people to get along with one another and helps make for a peaceful society. If we want God to treat us fairly, then we should want God to treat others the same way he treats us. That means, if we want God to allow us the freedom to make our own choices, then the only fair thing is to let God allow others the same privilege, even if they make bad choices.

What we have to realize is there are both positive and negative consequences to whatever choices we make. If we choose to turn our back on God because, in our lack of understanding, or we don’t want to live as he says, then we’re turning our back on his help as well. That help may not make the pain go away, but it will help make it easier for us to get through it than it otherwise would be.

“Trust in the Lord” is not just some catchy religious phrase that applies only when things are going well in our life. It is the secret to making it through the hard times of life.

Related articles can be found at The Nature of God