The Pain We Cause

And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. Numbers 14:33

I wrote yesterday about the pain we inflict upon ourselves in following our own way instead of God’s. Sin, by definition, is doing that which is outside of God’s will. In abandoning God’s will, we make ourselves miserable. If the damage stopped there, it would seem just – We suffer the consequences of our own actions.

In my addiction though, I clearly caused tremendous pain to those who had nothing to do with my caustic behavior. My lying, cheating, and stealing didn’t hurt only me. Rather, my actions caused tremendous pain for my wife and children. Where’s the justice in that? They didn’t divert opioids for their own use, but when I lost my job and went to treatment, they clearly suffered consequences.

This, I think, is one of the most difficult questions about God – Why does God allow evil to impact the lives of the innocent? Today’s passage provides an example of this phenomenon. In the story, the Israelites repeatedly rebelled against God, even though he’d led them out of Egyptian slavery and was guiding them to the Promised Land – a distance they could have covered in several weeks. For their rebellion, God declared that the journey would now take 40 years. Today’s passage makes note of the fact that Israel’s children would suffer for 40 years too, even though they took no part in the rebellion. That hardly seems fair.

In his wisdom, God provided us with free will. We can follow him or not follow him. Our actions have consequences though, which are not limited to our own lives, but also affect those around us. God loves us and desires that we love him back. For love to be real though, we must have choice. The cost of free will is that we can cause ourselves and others tremendous pain.

Why does God allow evil to impact the lives of the innocent? This is a difficult question that has very personal implications. I don’t like it when others hurt me, but still, I don’t want my free will to be taken away. If I’m honest, the question about evil involves me. How can God allow me to hurt others? In my addiction, I followed my will above all, injuring those around me. Living in faith and recovery now, means I must do the opposite. Daily, I must attempt to follow God’s will as I learn to consider the impact of my behavior on my loved ones.

God has granted us free will. Daily, we must decide how we’ll use it, recognizing that the consequences affect those around us.