We Suffa Cuz God Punish Us?

LUZIA NO CAN WALK GOOD ON HER LEF LEG. Wen she wuz small, she wen get polio, one sickness dat affeck how da body work. Wen Luzia wuz 16, one lady she work fo wen tell her, “God wen give you polio fo punish you cuz you neva lissen to yoa maddah an you wuz mean to her.” Even afta long time, Luzia still rememba how bum out she wen feel.

WEN DAMARIS WEN FIND OUT SHE HAD BRAIN CANCER, her faddah wen ask her, “Wat you wen do fo dis happen to you? You musta done someting real bad. Dass why God stay punish you.” Cuz he wen say dat, dat wen make Damaris feel real sad.

Fo tousands of years peopo tink dat God make peopo sick fo punish dem. Da book Manners and Customs of Bible Lands tell dat plenny peopo in Jesus time wen believe dat “wen somebody get sick, God wen punish dem cuz of someting dey wen do, o somebody in da family wen do.” One book, called Medieval Medicine and the Plague, tell dat even hundreds of years afta Jesus time, “some peopo wen believe dat God wen make choke peopo sick fo punish dem fo dea sins.” So wen millions wen die all ova Europe in da 14th century, wuz dat God punishing dem cuz dey wuz bad? Or did da peopo get sick an die cuz of one bacteria, like da science guys wen figga out layta on? Some peopo like kno, if God make peopo sick fo make dem suffa fo dea sins.

TRY TINK: If God wen make peopo sick fo punish dem, den why would Jesus heal dem? Dat would mean dat Jesus wuz goin agains wat God tell iz fair an right. (Matthew 4:23, 24) Jesus would neva do dat. He tell, “I erytime do da kine stuff dat he like,” an “I goin do wat my Faddah tell me fo do.”—John 8:29; 14:31.

Da Bible make um clea dat God “no do notting wrong.” (Da Rules Secon Time 32:4) Fo exampo, God no would make one plane crash, an kill hundreds of peopo, jus cuz he like punish one guy on da plane! Cuz God erytime do wass right, Abraham, one guy dat trus God plenny, wen tell dat God no wuz goin “wipe out da peopo dat stay do da right ting, togedda wit da peopo dat do da bad kine stuff.” An he wen say, “No can be” dat God would do dat. (Da Start 18:23, 25) Da Bible even tell, “no ways God goin do someting bad!” or “do wass wrong!”—Job 34:10-12.

WAT DA BIBLE TEACH ABOUT SUFFARING

Wen we suffa, az not cuz God punish us. Jesus wen make dis clea wen him an his followas wen see one man who wuz blind from da time he wuz born. Jesus followas wen ask, ““Eh, Teacha! Who wen do bad kine stuff, dis guy o his muddah an faddah? Az why he born lidat, aah?” Jesus tell dem, “Not him o his faddah o his muddah do someting bad. Not cuz a dat he born blind. He wen born lidat fo erybody see da awesome stuff God do fo da guy.””—John 9:1-3.

Cuz plenny peopo in Jesus time wen believe dat God make peopo suffa fo someting bad dey wen do, Jesus followas musta been shock by wat he wen say. He had tell dem no wuz da man or his maddah an faddah who wen do someting bad fo make him be born blind. Jesus neva jus heal da blind guy but he even wen show dat God no make peopo suffa. (John 9:6, 7) Fo da peopo who suffa from mayjah healt problems, az so good fo kno dat God not da one dat make dem suffa.

Da Scripchas help us kno fo shua

• “No mo nobody can make God do bad kine stuff, an even moa, he no goin make nobody do bad kine stuff.” (FROM JAMES 1:13) Pretty soon “da bad kine stuff” dat wen make peopo suffa fo long time, like sick, pain, an death, goin be wipe out.

• Jesus wen “make all da sick peopo come good.” (MATTHEW 8:16) Wen Jesus wen heal all da sick guys dat wen come to him, He wen show wat God’s Govament goin do fo da whole eart.

• “[God] going wipe away all da tears from dea eyes, an nobody going mahke no moa, stay sad inside, o cry, o suffa no moa. All dose tings dat wen happen befoa going be pau.”—JESUS SHOW 21:3-5, NWT.

WHO WE CAN BLAME?

Fo long time plenny peopo wonda, how come we suffa plenny? An if God no make us suffa, den who we can blame? We goin get da ansas to dose questions in da nex paht.