I have been slacking/procrastinating. More honestly, I've been avoiding writing. I've had thoughts and ideas but last time I said I would talk about something and I haven't wanted to.
I said I would talk about the concept of if God is love then why do bad things happen and why do some people go to hell. And I didn't want to write because I don't know the answer.
I wrote myself into a corner.
Now, I'm not trying to defend my God or Christianity or anything. I'm not a scholar. I don't have a degree in religion or anything. At best, I am a home-grown philosopher.
I don't claim to know why God does the things He does. I don't know His plan for my life let alone anyone else's life or the universe. I don't know and I can't know. But I do know a few things that help me cope with that concept and what happens in our lives.
1. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Cliche? Yes. True? Also yes. And I don't mean this as in "I ate a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent, went to the ER, didn't die, and now I'm a better/stronger person." No. If anything I would just know not to eat dishwasher detergent. Which I already know. I mean life. What doesn't kill me in life makes me stronger. I have been through some bad things in life. Given, my life is a lot better than a lot of people. My parents never got divorced, I was not abused, none of my close friends/family have died in my memorable lifetime, etc... But terrible things are relative. My life has been easier than a lot of other people's but I have been through tough times nonetheless. However, I do believe I have come out a better person because of it. And not just better for myself, but better for other people too.
Because of my time in my teens where I felt alone, discarded, and betrayed I have been able to talk to several of my friends and help them through similar situations. For one or two of these people I helped them avoid suicide. Because of what I went through I was able to be strong for other people and help them through a hard point in their life. Hypothetical: what if one of those people I talked to becomes a guidance counselor and helps thousands of teens across the world through suicide and on to better lives. How can I blame God for what happened to me if that is the outcome? As I talked about last time, I do believe God is love and therefore everything works out in the end. I believe in happy endings because God is love.
If the ending of the story ends well but I'm not around to read it, does is it still happy?
2. I have free will.
Why do people go to hell? That I also do not know. I just have to trust and believe that things are better that way. And I know from one angle at least that they are. Hypothetical: You are lonely in a world full of robots. You want a spouse so you ask the robots to make one million other humans so you can pick a spouse. You have two options for these created humans. 1: These humans can be programmed to love you. You can have your choice of one million people that all love you. They have no options but to love you! 2: These humans can be programmed to be real people and you have to find the ones that choose to love you. It isn't that they have to love you, they are surrounded by a million people and they chose to love you instead.
Would you want to be loved by people that have to love you or by someone that chose to love you?
Apparently, God doesn't want flocks of people that have to love Him. He wants people who have chosen to love Him. There is a choice. Some will choose yes. Some will choose no. That is all I know.
Is it an explanation? No. Does it help me make it through tough questions like these? A little.
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