Permissions of Evil
Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? They utter speech, and speak insolent things; all workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage. (PS 94:3-5)
The spirit of this text of the Psalms
has been uttered countless times. Throughout history, there hasalways been
cruelty done to innocent people. Wicked people have done and continue to
do vicious acts to innocent people. Just within this century, we
have witnessed the slaughter of innocent people withthe Holocaust and Bosnia.
And that is not to mention all those who are cheated and harm that we do
not hear of. Even just this week, thousands of innocent people lost
their lives in the flooding in Central America.
Even the Word confirms that people will suffer on earth. The Lord
once said in the Gospels, "The poor you will always have with you."
There will always be those who seem to have many tragic circumstances
afflict them during their lives. And we are especially disturbed when we
personally know someone who seems to suffer a hardship that is unjustified.
At times it seems as if those who are the gentlest and the kindest
suffer the greatest afflictions. It is while we are confronted with this
harsh appearance that we question how a loving God, Who has all
power, could allow such things to happen.
The Word does treat and address this subject quite extensively. The
Writings for the New Church give many explanations why it is necessary
for the good to suffer at the hands of the evil. However, theseexplanations
are not designed to make us comfortable with the suffering of the good.
We are meant to feel grief and be upset when an innocent person
is needlessly victimized. We are not to be fatalistic and develop
the attitude that this is the way it is and there is nothing we can do
to change it.
What the Word does provide is a perspective that explains why these
things must happen. In giving these explanations, we can remain
steadfast in our faith in the Lord. We can also continue to believethat
the Lord governs everything in the universe. These explanations can prevent
us from believing that the Lord does not exist and there are things
that do happen which are beyond His control. Still, thequestion remains,
why would the Lord allow such tragic things to happen to innocent people?
The Word does provide many examples of innocent people suffering
affliction. First, we read of a man who was born blind. The disciples
assumed that his blindness was a direct punishment of someone sinning.
The Lord answered that no one sinned, but that the glory of God might become
manifest through him. His affliction was not a punishment. Instead,
it was an opportunity for the Lord's power to be displayed and become
visible. Quite often, we can see the Lord's power better through adversitythen
we can when everything is going well.
Many times, the serenity of heavenly peace is more visibly recognized,
when a true disciple of the Lord is going through a hardship. It is through
adversity that we can see and become more aware of the presence
of the Lord. Quite often a person who is suffering from a diseased
body can better manifest a heavenly life. They never complain, but find
satisfaction in what the Lord has given to them. Also, they have
a perception of the Lord within them that is enough to sustain them
in their troubles and find joy in what they are able to do. The man born
blind was able to show the Lord's healing power through his affliction.
Adversity can give us the greatest demonstration of the Lord's presence
and power.
Esau is another example of a benefit that can happen to us when we
are faced with a tragedy. Jacob stole Esau's blessing through deception.
He was very angry and threatened to kill Jacob. Jacob thanfled for his
life. After many years, Jacob was reunited with his brother. Jacob was
afraid of the type of reception he would receive. But when they
finally met, Esau was a changed man. When Jacob offered him many
gifts, Esau was not interested but said he had enough to live on. He was
content with what he had.
Quite often, when some type of disaster strikes, it can cause a great
deal of anxiety. However, tragedies can reinforce the principle
that eternal things are more important than natural things. We seevivid
examples each day of how fragile and vulnerable natural things can be.
Our possessions, and even our lives can be taken away in an instant.
A person who bases his or her entire life upon the attainment of
natural enjoyments is like the rich fool who only spent his life building
bigger barns. His whole focus of life was obtaining worldly pleasures.
When natural disasters strike, they can be very painful and disturbing.
Yet, they can encourage us to look and focus upon things that will last
for eternity. We are to lay up treasures in heaven. We are to regard
spiritual things as more important than natural things. And should
something happen to our natural possessions, this teaching can become more
real. When we base our lives upon spiritual principles, we are building
our lives upon a foundation that will last throughout eternity.
The attitude of how we are to regard natural things is summed in
the Lord's statement before Pilate. When Pilate inquired of the
Lord why He was not fighting against His accusers, He said, "If Mykingdom
were of this world, My servants would fight. But My kingdom is not of this
world." (John 18:36) If life upon the natural world was all there
was, then we should use every method to enjoy the world's pleasures.
But life on this world is designed to prepare us for life in heaven.
At times, the good may indeed suffer tragically while in the natural
world. But their reward will not be fully recognized until they
enter their place in heaven.
Therefore, we are told directly that the only reason why evils succeed
upon this world is on account of mankind's salvation. The Lord must
permit evils to happen, and even succeed, in order that He may bring
salvation to the human race. Our freedom of choice is preserved through
the Lord permitting evil to take place. There are two spiritual
benefits when evils or tragic things are allowed to take place. First,
they prevent us from making spiritual judgements. If we think about it,
if only the wicked suffered tragedies, we could make spiritual judgements.
Whenever someone suffered a catastrophe, we could state that he
or she is evil. When the good suffer the same things, then we are prevented
from making
spiritual judgements.
Secondly, we are taught that evils are not fully removed unless they
are allowed to express themselves. When they are allowed to be made
known, then they can be put away. Also, we can see the emptiness in
basing our lives upon obtaining their pleasures.
We are to desire justice. We are not to feel so comfortable with
wickedness that we tolerate their existence. And if we are in a
position to combat an injustice, we must do so. But there will always beinjustices
and tragedies that will be beyond our control to remove. It is when we
are confronted with these difficult moments that we need to hold
fast to the doctrine that the Lord governs all things of theuniverse. He
does not allow anything to happen unless something good may come from it.
In other words, everything that happens, good or bad, can have a
positive effect on everyone's lives. We may not recognize it while
we live in this world. But the truth of this statement can happen. And
when we find discouragement in this world's injustices, we can find
strength in these words of the Lord, "In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."