Does God cause good people to suffer?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

It is the long-standing opinion of many that God is directly responsible for the suffering in the world today. Yet it is a curious thing that we generally bypass our own undisputed involvements in the consequences of our actions to blame none other than God himself.

Thus if we should rob a bank, commit murder, and end up behind bars, God is to blame. If we are promiscuous to the point that results in sexual transmitted diseases or have numerous children who suffer because of inability to support them, God is responsible. Years ago, there was a popular Jamaica song that chanted Jah, you fi lick dem wid diseases. Apparently, it held that sickness was God’s retribution on an evil nation. The God-sent suffering is so entrenched in the minds of many that if you are struggling with an unbearable illness or plague, many are prone to ask, “A wah yuh du cause dis fi teck yuh?”

That was also the case with Job in the Bible, where his so-called friends tried to attach his suffering to some transgression on his part. This was obviously the mindset of Jesus’ disciples also when they inquired of him regarding a man who was born blind “Who’s sin caused him to be born blind his own or his parents” (John 19:1-3.) Jesus’ response, therefore, overturned that common misconception when he said neither his nor his parents’ sin is responsible.

And think about it, if that man’s blindness was a deserved punishment from God, would Jesus have then reversed his condition by giving him sight and thus counteract and annul God’s justice and righteousness – even while he and the father work in unison? (John 17:27) Hardly. Again, if God punishes people because of sins they commit, why does indiscriminate suffering occur – such as the COVID-19 pandemic, earthquakes, and hurricanes – that cause tremendous suffering around the world? For instance, if because of one wicked man who is travelling on an airplane, 120 people go down with him, isn’t it absurd to think that an almighty God isn’t able to separate individual punishment from collective justice?

Thus, in a world that is experiencing tremendous sufferings from all sides, whether it be in the form of a painful illness, a terminal disease, natural disasters, wars, poverty, road fatalities, and injustice ,to blame God for all these maladies and human adversities is like mindlessly tossing a stone in the air and blaming God that the injury your neighbour suffers to the head is divine punishment, which is totally disconnected.

HOMER SYLVESTER