The problem of pain. . .

In his 1940 book The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis argues that presence of pain is an insufficient reason to reject belief in a good and powerful God.  Lewis writes that he is "not primarily arguing the truth of Christianity but describing its origin - a task ... necessary if we are to put the problem of pain in its right setting."  Of course, he addresses the common complaint:  "If God were good, He would make His creatures perfectly happy, and if He were almighty He would be able to do what he wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both."  What God cannot or will not do for us, we will do for ourselves.  We will answer the problem of pain with pain relievers, shifting the problem from death to pain and the solution away from the resurrection to relief of the pain.  The gods of big pharma are certainly attuned to the want of our culture and society to find a life free of pain and a death without pain when you are over it all.  I wonder what C. S. Lewis would think of the world we have created with all of its expectations.

We find it hard to understand a God or anyone who would not or cannot relieve suffering and pain if it is possible to do so.  The morality of it all has shifted from the reason for suffering to the immorality of those who will not do everything in their power to prevent or relieve it.  On top of it all, we have equated all suffering to be equal -- whether imagined, real, mental, emotional, or physical.  There is no distinction.  Even if it is self-imposed.  Suffering and pain are bad.  The gods of our age relieve suffering and pain and do not worry about the morality of how they do it.  The worst suffering and pain of all is the word "no."  Self-denial is not exactly in our vocabulary today and so orthodox Christianity grows less attractive by the day and a new version of Christianity which accords with our presuppositions about pain daily increases in attractiveness to us.  Added to that, at least in the eyes of the unchurched, the Christian faith is in competition with big pharma and our health care conglomerates intent upon answering every new pain with a new medication or treatment regimen.  

Oddly enough, the whole idea that faith is to insulate us from pain and suffering goes smack dab against the words of Jesus.  He promises rejection, persecution, imprisonment, and even death to those who would take up the cross to follow Him.  Even worse, He calls upon us to deny ourselves.  Let us not forget that He invites us to make sacrifice the hallmarks of our marriages, families, and witness.  On top of that, St. Paul insists that to join Christ in suffering is not a punishment to be avoided but the most precious privilege of identity and belonging.  The problem of pain is not what Christ came for.  Pain is a byproduct of faithfulness -- it was in the beginning of Christianity and it remains so.  Somehow or other we have forgotten this and harbored the secret hope that if we are faithful enough we will be kept from the sufferings and struggles of this mortal life and delivered pain free into the perfect life of our imagination in heaven.  How deeply have we misunderstood our Lord and raised a false expectation of what it is like to walk with Jesus!  The more we can do to distance ourselves from this imagined Christianity, the better it will be for us and for those who hear the Word through us.  But it may prove hard for us to let go of such an enticing expectation even if it is not authentic or true.