Why do we suffer? I’m not sure that question can ever be fully answered. The ways in which we suffer are exceptionally diverse, and the factors that lead to suffering are infinitely varied. But in order to even begin to understand how suffering could coexist with an all-loving God, we need to at least scratch the surface of an answer.
The foundation of suffering is with creation itself. If we take the view that God is omnipresent, that God is everywhere, we have to switch the traditional view of creation. Often creation is thought of as an outward expression. But if God is omnipresent, there is nothing that is outward, there is no outside.
Instead, creation had to be an inward expression. It is from within, from this act of kenosis, this emptying out, that creation is formed. And with that, God becomes intimately intertwined with creation. Because of that, creation isn’t finite; it’s not a singular event, but one that is constantly occurring.
This very act produces a dynamic openness, a system that isn’t closed off. As God freely chose to dwell with us, to become intertwined with us, to give humans the innate spark of creativity we possess, creation becomes this open system with unlimited potentiality. Potential for both good and evil, which often largely depends on us.
Taking a step back into Genesis, the creation story begins with a void, a depiction of chaos. A chaos that would have emanated from God, that God would have emptied out into what would be the cosmos. It is from this chaos that creation is then formed. And while this chaos would be molded and shaped, it continued to exist.
This chaos is something in which God struggles against while making it bend to his will. In the book of Job, God fights with the mighty Leviathan, a symbol of chaos, and while God is victorious, there is nevertheless a struggle.
In Genesis, through this struggle with chaos, through the creation process, we are told it is good. It is from within this chaos that humans are created in the image of God. And it is within knowing all of this, all of the potential, that God hands to humans the spark of creativity, so that we may also struggle with chaos, and hopefully produce good ourselves.
But creativity doesn’t just produce good. Within this chaos, within this open system of creation, there is endless possibilities. And that means there is the endless potential for evil and for suffering. In part, we as humans have to own up to that.
We aren’t perfect, and we make mistakes. As humans, we are limited. This leads to suffering. Not all suffering is bad though. At times, we push ourselves to our limits. When it comes to exercising, that can mean that we suffer the next day as our muscles heal, and eventually become stronger. Or it may mean that we stay up all night finishing a paper or reading a book, and we suffer the next day as we fight to just stay awake, but we pass the class.
We also have to realize that the world isn’t risk-free, and even something good can cause suffering. Gravity helps us stay firmly planted where we are. When felling a tree, gravity works in our favor by helping to bring it down so that the wood can be used to create. But if we aren’t careful, that same tree can come crashing down upon us.
Even things that can be good in that they bring us enjoyment, can lead to suffering if we overindulge. Having a glass of wine during a meal, or drinking a few beers with friends can be good. It can bring people closer together and allow people to relax, or open up, or simply enjoy each other’s company, because after all, we need that connection. Yet, drinking too much can lead to stupid decisions, and later suffering. That choice lies in our own hands.
That’s because our actions have consequences. We have the ability to commit evil, and that in turn have the potential to cause suffering. At the same time, we also have the ability to do great good, and relieve that suffering. Part of this is taking responsibility for our actions, and realizing that nothing we do is in a vacuum.
This brings us back to creation itself, and to our interconnectedness. Often the suffering we experience is not because of something we have done, but because of the actions of others. People who are oppressed generally are in that situation for reasons beyond their control. That is why we are called to rebel against oppression, and to make things right
But we must also realize that oppression, and suffering doesn’t always happen all of a sudden. Evil and suffering can build up over time, where it is slowly integrated into the fabric of life. It’s more of a systematic evil that future generations have to experience.
While our actions may have immediate consequences, they can also have these long-lasting impacts as well. Racism wasn’t created in a day, but over time it becomes systematic where it affects us on a global scale. In the same way, racism and other forms of systematic evil won’t be defeated in a day, but we can continually chip away at it.
As humans, we are responsible for these actions, and God calls us to work within this system, in order to keep creation good. But why doesn’t God simply intervene and remove this suffering and evil?
In a way, God does. By emptying himself into creation, God became interconnected with us. It’s where we get the idea of panentheism. God is within everything, but is also greater than all. We as humans have the ability to eliminate a great deal of evil, just as we have the ability to create it.
That may seem like a cop-out. But we need to accept at least some responsibility for the suffering of others. It’s not always major acts that cause this suffering either. Simply being rude to a store clerk can have a domino effect. That isn’t something God should need to step in to intervene with. That is something we need to look inward about and make the choice to do better every day.
Going back to creation, it may be that God can’t intervene, or at least not intervene in the way we wish. In order for creation to occur, self-limitation was necessary. For creation to exist, God had to withdraw to allow for a space to form in which creation came to be. And then for the act of kenosis, for God to empty himself into this world, to become one us and all of creation, it meant even more limitation.
For us to be human made in the image of God, it means we must have the ability to create. And to have this ability, we need an open system that allows for all of these possibilities. For God to intervene in stripping away suffering means that this open system we have would have to be closed off. Humans would need to be stripped of their creativity, and thus we would cease to really be.
To strip away evil, means stripping away chaos. It means stripping away the spark of creativity we’ve been endowed with. And it means that the endless possibilities that we have at our fingertips are simply taken away. For humans to truly be humans, God must limit himself. He must take a step back to allow creation to continue. That doesn’t mean God is absent, because God continues to be interconnected with us all. It just means we must accept this interconnectedness, and we must accept that we have the ability to set into motion both evil and good that affects people on a global scale. Hopefully, we choose right.