by Janine Ridings
“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3
Many of us with MCS are accustomed to asking “Why, God?” As we grapple with the reality of how our lives have changed since having MCS, many of us have had to face the age old question of why God allows pain and suffering in this world. Since the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, many around the world are asking the question, “Why, God?” “Why did you allow this horrific tragedy to take place?” There are no easy answers to this question, and I believe only God knows for sure. Religious leaders have proposed various theories as to why God allowed the terrorists to succeed in their mission, but they are only that—just theories. No man knows the heart and mind of God. It is the nature of man, however, to want to find answers and place blame when tragedy occurs. I Corinthians 13:12 refers to the fact that our knowledge while on this earth is incomplete. It says this:
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face. Now
I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
I am not proposing that I
know why the tragedy happened. However,
I would like to mention two of the most popular theories as to why many
Christian leaders think the tragedy may have been allowed to occur. The first proposal is that the church has failed in it’s job to be salt
and light to earth, and therefore, our society has become very ungodly. In turn, God allowed the tragedy possibly as a wake up call to the church
to humble themselves before God and strive to be more effective in their
purpose.
The second theory
which seems to be quite popular is the theory that because of the sinfulness of
our nation, God has removed His protective hand from us. We do see in Israel’s history that this was often the case
when they sinned against God. Israel
would serve God for awhile, and in turn, God would protect them and help them
defeat their enemies. Then Israel
would become complacent and start worshipping other gods. We see time and time again where God would allow Israel’s enemies to
defeat them when they turned to other gods. Psalm 106:36-38;40-41 says,
“They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood…Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them.”
Many times God was
patient with Israel and didn’t treat them as their sins deserve, but we also
see where God did at times allow Israel to suffer consequences for their
ungodliness.
As
we all know, our nation was founded as a Christian nation. Over the years, however, many other religions and cults have become
widespread in our country in addition to Christianity. Our country has been guilty of serving many other gods than the God of
the Bible. Additionally, the moral
climate in this country has declined dramatically in recent times. We are on a slippery slope downward in terms of our moral purity as a
nation. Pornography is
rampant, as is abortion. We have
slaughtered more than 40 million of our children since the passage of Roe vs.
Wade in the '70s which legalized abortion. What we have done as a nation is not too much different than the sins of
the Israelites years ago. They were
known to sacrifice their babies to the god of Baal by burning them in a pit. In addition, they had idols with multiple sets of breasts which were
meant to stimulate sensual pleasure. This
was similar to the purpose of our modern day pornography found in movies,
magazines and now on the internet.
The attitude of
“tolerance” has become popular in our nation.
It stems from the belief that there is really no absolute truth.
Whatever one wants to believe is just fine.
This is a very dangerous attitude. It
is similar to the mindset that was present during the time in Israel’s history
when the book of Judges was written. Judges
21:25 says,
“In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”
Doesn’t this
sound like our culture today? We
are encouraged to be “politically correct,” which really means, “Let
people do whatever seems right in their own eyes.” Like Israel, we have become a nation that has allowed sin and evil to
abound. Personally, I think
the events of September 11th should
be a wake up call to our nation. Regardless
of whether or not our sinfulness as a nation was part of the reason God allowed
the September 11th tragedy to occur,
I think it would still be prudent for us as a nation to humble ourselves,
seek God’s face, and ask Him what we can learn from the tragedy. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says,
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God often uses
trials to perfect our character. In light of the recent tragedy that has
occurred, it would be wise to see this
as one more opportunity where we can allow God to purify us in the midst of
adversity. I would encourage all of
us to examine our own lives and ask God what areas of our lives need
purification. We should ask the
Lord how we can become more like Him, and what we can do to please Him with our
lives. This week let’s pray that we will live holy lives. I Peter 1:14 says,
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy because I am holy.’”