Saturday, March 2, 2013

How should the righteous respond to personal suffering?

The irony of it is that a person’s righteousness is usually determined by how faithful he or she remains to the will of God, even when such entails undergoing human suffering. The Bible is replete with examples of righteous people who have suffered. They can, however, be taken summarily by the implication of the Greek term ‘dikaios’, which means a faithful observant of the commands of God.
Suffering occupies a central part in the Christian tradition, chiefly because Jesus Christ - the supreme exemplification of righteousness - is believed to have, in his lifetime, recognized the redemptive nature of human suffering. The epistle of Paul to the Philippians attests to this: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil 2:8)
As indeed, the righteousness of Jesus in his resolve never to astray from the will of God, notably in the poignant scene of his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, is a good example to consider. Christ’s filial plea to “take this cup away” from him forebodes the imminent suffering ahead. Yet his faith, which allowed him to surrender his life in the hands of God, never wavered. At the end of his prayer, before facing his tormentors, Christ is known to have added: “Let not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ would, as we all know, be sentenced to die brutally on the cross.
Thus, under the purview of Christian faith, one responds righteously to suffering by imitating the example of Jesus Christ. Christian faith, after all, takes the teachings and witnessing of Christ as sine-qua-non materials in its doctrinal tenets and moral teachings. The life of Jesus is a whole corpus of powerful teachings on righteousness in the face of suffering. How one, like Jesus, accepts suffering as an irreducible part of life, and how one treats it as the unlikely path towards which the will of God is pursued, could render one righteous in the eyes of both God and men.


The suffering of the righteous is often not viewed as suffering but rather as a temptation that they go through and God will be glorified after it is over. A good example of a righteous suffering in the Bible is the story of Job a servant of God who was diligent in all possible ways and Satan felt that he was being good just because God had blessed him. Then God allowed Satan to bring suffering to Job just to see if Job was honest and Steadfast on his love for God. It is evident that God does not want his righteous people to suffer since he cannot allow any temptation to come to them that they cannot overcome. Christians believe that God will never leave nor forsake them according to the promises that He gives them in the Bible. Generally, suffering for the righteous is more of a temptation that God will eventually help them to overcome and God will be glorified through it all.


It depends a bit upon the type of personal suffering, but generally, in the context of Christianity, the righteous should accept that it is from God, serves His purpose, and is nothing compared to the glory awaiting them. They should endure it, perhaps rejoice in it, and hold fast to their faith.
Psalm 23, one of the most famous verses in the Bible, assures believers that God will be with them and comfort them, even as they "walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Isaiah 43:2 promises metaphoric safety:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

In the new testament, Peter informs disciples that if they are persecuted in the name of Jesus, they should be happy. "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened,'" he writes in 1 Peter 3:14.
In Romans 5:3, the apostle Paul proclaims that the righteous "rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope . . . "
Personal suffering can also be seen as a test from God. Timothy 3:12 states, " . . . everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Christ himself warned his disciples that they will be hated, and will suffer much in His name. This is exemplified in the Bible in the book of Job, but it does not take such extreme suffering to test one's faith.
Within the Christian understanding of righteousness, righteous people accept that personal suffering is a part of life, retain their trust in God, and believe His promise that He will never give them more burden than they can handle.

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