Notes from the book:
It’s easy to shout “God is good!” when your life had been
characterised by success and blessings[1].
It can much harder to do so when bad things happen and life does not run so
smoothly.
Worse still is when something bad happens to a Christian and
a pastor asks “Who sinned?” This is built on a narrative that says we have to
do something in order to get the blessings of the God, and conversely, if we
anger God, we will surely be punished[2].
God is viewed as the angry judge, watching us closely, and eager to punish us
for even minor infractions[3].
In fact, when Jesus healed a blind man and is asked a
question by his disciples: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he
was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he
was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him” (John 9:2-3)[4].
Jesus also said God treats all people the same: “He makes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous”
(Matthew 5:45)[5].
The narrative of the “punishing-blessing god” is so
prevalent and popular. We like control. This narrative allows us to live in the
illusion that we can control our world, which is very appealing in our chaotic
existence. This, though, is a form of superstition, as there is no evidence to
support it – just like “don’t walk under a ladder, break a mirror or let a
black cat cross your path”. We know deep down that superstitions are silly, but
that does not prevent us from believing in them[6].
Good and bad things can happen to anyone, whether they are
good or bad. It is not “beneficial” to spend our time worrying about why good or bad things happen. It is
not worthwhile because we simply cannot know. And more importantly, it
will keep us from focusing on the right things. Augustine concludes, “Rather we
must seek out the good things peculiar to the good, and give the widest berth
to the evils peculiar to evil men”. God promises that those who love and serve,
and are honest and faithful, will know a kind of joy and peace that those who
are evil never will[7]. Still,
God is just: When we come to Judgment Day not only will the judgments passed
there seem to be most just, but all the judgments of God from the beginning
will be likewise clearly fair[8].
We should expect to go through heartache and pain, suffering
and loss, because they are part of what it means to be human, and they can be
useful in our development[9].
Reflections:
The author describes his situation of suffering a great
misfortune and his pastor asking him “Who sinned?”[10]
It is very inappropriate to make this type of comment to
someone who has just suffered misfortune, as it echoes the events in the book
of Job in the bible. Take a real life example: Morling College student Victor Oreshkin,
who perished on the MH17 flight last year. We all know it is not appropriate to
go up to Victor’s family and ask “who sinned”. After all, Jesus said God treats
all people the same: “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45)[11].
Bad things can happen to good people. Good things can happen to bad people.
I find it very interesting that the author describes the
“who sinned” attitude as being built on a false narrative that says we have to
do something in order to get the blessings of the God, and conversely, if we
anger God, we will surely be punished[12]. This
false narrative suggests that God is the angry judge, watching us closely, and
eager to punish us for even minor infractions[13]. This
narrative also makes us live in the illusion that we can control our world
through what we do (ie. by doing good), which is very appealing in our chaotic
existence[14].
This leads me to reflect on a personal misfortune I have
suffered three years ago where my father suddenly passed away from
complications associated with a heart attack. I prayed for my father and my
church listed the heart attack as one of the intercession prayers. So the whole
church was very surprised when my father suddenly passed away, because their
narrative is something along the lines of “all things are possible in God, if
we declare in faith an illness will be cured and have enough faith, then it
will be cured.” This narrative seem to suggest that if you pray for someone
who’s ill and that person doesn’t get cured, then maybe you don’t have enough
faith. It may even suggest that we can get God to do whatever we want so long
as we have enough faith. We all know it is not true, as everyone will
eventually die from something in this life. God is God: No human dogma, even
that God must act with justice, can bind or restrict the mysterious God[15].
Interestingly, my father’s passing away triggered in me the
most rapid rate of spiritual growth I’ve had in my life. I agree with the
author’s statement that “we should expect to go through heartache and pain,
suffering and loss, because they are part of what it means to be human, and
they can be useful in our development”[16]. I
think the alternate response to those who are suffering from misfortunes is: Humans
can never understand why God does what He does; we can only trust in faith that
somehow innocent suffering fits into a larger plan of His.
Bibliography:
Smith, James Bryan. The
Good and Beautiful God. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2010.
Wilson, Lindsay.
“Job”, In Theological Interpretation of
the Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey, edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer,
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008, 148-156.
[1] James
Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God,
(London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2010): 38.
[2] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 40.
[3] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 41.
[4] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 43.
[5] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 45.
[6] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 45.
[7] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 46-47.
[8] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 47.
[10] James
Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God,
(London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2010): 40.
[11] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 45.
[12] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 40.
[13] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 41.
[14] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 45.
[15]
Wilson, “Job”, 154.
[16] Smith,
The Good and Beautiful God, 51.
