Do not blame God for the wrongs of the world
Do not blame God for the wrongs of the world: Man is entirely responsible for the mess the world finds itself in
Two weeks into the war in Ukraine, and many forum comments and video clips run sensationalist headlines such as “Why does God allow this to happen?” and “How can a loving God stand by and watch the destruction?” This week’s article will show that God knows all about it, and He is in full control of the situation now and in the future.
First, we must understand that God never intended the world to be as it has been ever since Eve succumbed to the lies of the devil. He never wanted man to be bogged down by sin. However, the fall of man meant that the dispensation of innocence in the garden of Eden gave way to a dispensation of guilt and conscience outside the garden. In the garden man was totally innocent, naïve, and not aware of the effects of sin. Sin resulted in the age of conscience is one where man is suddenly aware of the deadening effect of sin, and so it has been to this day. Even those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of their lives, are constantly bombarded by attacks. I know. I am attacked every day.
Second, God has given each man a will to decide for themselves what they want to do. Without going into too much detail, let us rather allow the Word explain it:
15See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. – Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Understanding this is easy. God offers us both life and death. We have a choice. However, in His infinite wisdom He knows we will mess up, and so He commands (a direct order!) us to love Him; walk in His ways; and keep His commandments so that we may live and increase in numbers. Then later, as if we still do not get the message, He urges us to rather choose life, so that we may live. Critics will be quick to point out that these words were spoken just before Israel was to enter Canaan and that it cannot be applied to us today. Not so. This is a local (for Israel) as well as a universal (for all of us) message of God’s love for man. He does not want anyone in any age to perish in their sins:
11Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? – Ezekiel 33:11
If this is how He feels about the wicked, imagine how He feels about those who love Him. Yet, man’s free will has landed him is hot water so often, and we never learn. That people die in their sins is the result of the free will God has given us. Yet, behind this is God’s perfect will for us – that we will live in faith and obey His wish for us, that whosoever believes in His Son will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Let us have a look at some recent examples of human suffering. For years, there has been terrible conflict wherever Islam is in control. The Middle East, central Asia, and north Africa are places of conflict and with good reason. Where Jesus Christ is not honoured as the only Son of God, do not expect His blessing to be present, except individually in the lives of believers. Believers will still be the target of the evil governments of those countries. In the past two weeks we have seen the terror of a madman, Putin, unleashed on innocent masses. Is God responsible for this? No. This was started by men, inspired by the devil. Decisions to commit evil deeds are the choices people make, not driven by God, even if He allows it.
Why does He allow it? One of the results of the fall of man is that the control of government moved from God to man. As I work through the history of Israel in the Old Testament, I see how they wanted a king. They were not satisfied with the judges and prophets but looked around them at the heathen nations who had kings, and decided they wanted the same. Take some time and read through Samuel and Kings and see for yourself how, starting with Saul, just about every king decided not to follow God, and lead the entire nation astray.
Human government will never be successful. What is required, and will happen, is for all monarchies, democracies, autocracies, and every other type of -crasies and -isms, to fail and be replaced by Godly theocratic rule, set up by Jesus Christ as King, in Jerusalem, over all nations on Earth. This will put an end to human government, suffering, and sin. God allows suffering because as much as man causes it, he can also prevent it. We quickly blame someone else for what is going wrong, pointing a finger. Point a finger to someone else again and take a good look at your gesture – three fingers are pointing back at yourself!
We are commanded to live Godly lives, but the world, driven by the flesh, wants adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresy, envy, murder, drunkenness, and revelling (Galatians 5:19-20). God does not approve of this, but allows it, given the free will He has given us. He wants us instead to be driven by the Holy Spirit and show love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23).
Conclusion
Someone once said, “If you knew the power of your will, you would give it back to God”. Instead of battling with your will and the dreadful outcome it always results in, why not rather submit to His perfect will for our lives. This week, rather than focussing on the unimaginable wrongs that take place all around us, look for a situation where we can show the love of God, to a dying world. You may not see the results of your efforts in this life, but you will be surprised who you meet in heaven, and who proclaim they are in heaven because of something you did for them on Earth and made them experience the saving grace of Jesus.