A PHILOSOPHY OF SUFFERING

 

The late British philosopher C.S. Lewis declared that he believed in Christianity for the same reason he believed in the sun. It was not merely because he could see the sun, but, by the sun, he could see everything else.

Does the Bible enable us to see and understand everything else? I will confine myself to two instances of this principle. The Bible enables us to understand and embrace suffering and to live meaningfully within its inevitable grip. In contrast to this, secularism regards suffering as a useless encumbrance. Consequently, when the secularist suffers, he experiences a double whammy – a virtual knockout punch:

1. The suffering itself and
2. The debilitating belief that suffering is a negative, meaningless and costly burden, lacking any redemptive value.

Secularism deprives suffering of its meaning. This doesn’t mean that secularists don’t talk about meaning. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche did:

·       “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” 

Although this is very true, it is not adequate to simply create our own “why.” We have to know that meaning is intrinsic to reality itself and connects us to something higher than merely our changing feelings.

The late American novelist Norman Mailer was cognizant of this problem:

·       “We are healthier if we think there is some importance in what we’re doing…When it seems like my life is meaningless, I feel closer to despair.”

Mailer realized that he could not merely create his own meaning. Instead, it has to be discovered within the fabric of objective reality. Consequently, inventing meaning is no more meaningful that imagining that we have a wife and children – a family – when we do not. Imagination might fill our emptiness for a while, but eventually, it will present us with its bill.

Without assurance of a real meaning, we shrivel and die in the face of suffering. The late psychiatrist Victor Frankl observed, during his internment in a National Socialist death camp, that:

·       “The prisoner who had lost faith in the future…was doomed.” (Man’s Search for Meaning)

Even worse, according to sociologist David Karp, secularism slams the door on meaning:

·       “Cosmopolitan medicine banishes that knowledge [of the necessary purpose for suffering] by insisting that suffering is without meaning and unnecessary… [Suffering is] secularized as mechanical mishaps, and so stripped of their stories, the spiritual ramifications and missing pieces of history that make meaning." (Speaking of Sadness, pg. 191) 

Nevertheless, secularists do find meaning in suffering. They recognize that suffering can aid in producing character and virtue. However, are these observations enough to overcome the pain of suffering, disease, victimization, and death? Hardly! It is little comfort to one who has lost his family to a murderer to think that, during his brief sojourn on life’s bandstand, his ordeal might be improving his character,.

Confidence in the meaning of suffering and of life itself is essential. It is precisely this meaning that the Bible enables us to see and embrace!

We trust in the Bible’s wisdom that in order to become like Christ we must suffer like Christ (2 Corinthians 4:10-11, 16-18). Besides, knowing that this will last only for a little while enables us to persevere as did Jesus:

·       Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2; ESV)

We need a worldview that serves as a good roadmap, getting us to where we need to go. The Bible’s teachings on suffering enable us to navigate the most horrendous roads (not to mention God’s interventions – 1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

However, there are also aberrant forms of Christianity that rob us of this confidence. They claim that we have power in our tongues to create, as God does and to deliver us from the grip of suffering. Subsequently, when suffering does not relent, and their tongue proves unable to deliver them, they add a sense of spiritual inadequacy and vertigo to their suffering.  

A Philosophy of Virtue. The Bible also unmasks the detrimental effects of sin. I was never able to put two and two together and to recognize the negative effects of sugar until it was pointed out to me. Now I have become aware of how sugar makes me feel. Consequently, I now limit my intake.

Similarly, the Bible has made me aware of both the evil of sin and of the destructive impact of sin upon me. I also began to see its deceptiveness – how it coerces me to justify it, defend it, and even to take control of my thinking in a more profound way than any drug could ever do. Now, with my eyes widened by the teachings of Scripture, I can begin to oppose it and not fall prey to its corrupting influences.

The Scriptures unmasked the deep sins like jealousy. I had been jealous of the joy that other Christians were experiencing in the Lord. I therefore sought to undermine their confidence by finding flaws in their faith and understanding of Scripture. What I was doing was pure evil, but I had been blinded. When the Holy Spirit began to reveal these things through Scripture, I was horrified and sought to rationalize my sin. Fortunately, it became increasingly difficult to deny the sin. I was crushed but found comfort in the Lord when I confessed my sins.

Admittedly, I still struggle against sin daily. However now, I can immediately see its ugly influence. When it does take hold, I confess it to my Savior, and He forgives, cleanses me of all of its filth (1 John 1:9), and give me the confidence to once again assault sins fortifications.

Sin is a cancer. Without the confidence of God’s forgiveness and intimate involvement in our lives, we condemn ourselves to covering over our sins instead of bringing them to the light. But they are still there and fester freely in the darkness, wrapping their cancerous tentacles around everything in us and all our intentions. We build hospitals, give to the poor, volunteer our services, obtain advanced degrees, but the sin is still there, calling-the-shots, while sitting at the helm of our ship.

The Bible is our map and navigational instrument. Without it, we will inevitably shipwreck on unseen boulders. Proverbs states that God’s wisdom is essential for navigation:

·       Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. (Proverbs 3:13-18)

In the next chapter, I will further try to illustrate how the teachings of the Bible are best able to address the questions of “mental health” and life management.