By: Obed Pineda
There are corrupt men who audaciously surmise that it is impossible for there to be a God because of the tremendous amount of violence and pain that exists in the world. They state that it is inconceivable that an Almighty God, full of mercy and compassion, can be real since there is so much war, famine, and misery. Upon examining these claims more closely, one will discover that they are unfounded and unjust because of two primary reasons. First, it places the entire blame for the current sordid condition of society on God and secondly, it conveniently ignores all of the blessings that He bestows upon His creation daily. Verily, the Hebrew poet responds, “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:8-9, cf. Acts 14:15-17). The Master instructs His Church to imitate the Father in loving all men, including those who declare themselves to be our enemies, declaring “your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35). Holy Writ reveals in the pericope that God pours His blessings even upon those who oppose Him, establishing the impartiality of God’s love toward all of humanity; righteous and unrighteous. Thus, this begs the question: If God pours His blessings upon the world, then why is there so much woe and suffering? The apostle Paul answers, “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” and “through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation” (Romans 5:12, 18a). It is wise to recall that it was Adam’s disobedience that corrupted God’s holy and pristine creation, and as such what was once a blessing corroded into a curse (cf. Genesis 3:14-19). Once more, God created the world perfect (as in flawless) for mankind, but that blessing was tainted the moment sin was granted entrance into the world by Adam and Eve. The disease that is malice spread to all men, but also contaminated His creation in the process. Isaiah lends his words to this truth as he wrote, “The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left” (Isaiah 24:4-6). The Bible illuminates that man is the source of his own destruction through his rebellious tendencies. God, in His omnibenevolent nature, pours His blessings of providence upon mankind daily (cf. Acts 17:28). Yet, it is man who abuses His providential care and corrupts these same blessings, transforming them into a curse. During the days of Noah, before the flood occurred, Holy Scripture describes the condition of humanity the following way: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). Before the complete eradication of the cities of the plain, Jehovah God revealed to His friend that “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:20-21). The inspired Peter enlightens the diligent Bible student that it was Lot’s outcry against Sodom’s depravity that the LORD referred to when speaking about this matter to Abraham (cf. 2nd Peter 2:6-8). This is interesting because it is worth remembering that what attracted Lot to this region was that he “saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar” (Genesis 13:10). Observe the blessings that Holy Writ unveils in both Scriptures. One is that which has been mentioned often throughout this treatise; the land was very fertile because of God’s providential hand. The other, which sadly is frequently missed, is God’s merciful approach to the inhabitants of the cities of the plain. Remember that God is all knowing, and there is nothing hidden from His divine sight (cf. Hebrews 4:12-13). This revelation should sprout the inquiry of why God would need to go down to Sodom and Gomorrah to verify the outcry made against them, if He was already aware of the answer. The Savior provides the following explanation with His parable of The Wicked Vinedressers as He states, “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect Him when they see Him’” (Luke 20:13). Christ was revealing to His adversaries (the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people) the Father’s purpose for sending Him, the only begotten Son, to the world. Even after all the evil they had done to His servants the prophets, He still gave them the benefit of the doubt by granting them one more opportunity to repent of their actions and to turn away from the evil they had done. In other words, the Almighty was appealing to man’s conscience by personally making an appearance through His Son. This was the same reason why He visited Sodom and Gomorrah, through His servants the angels (cf. Genesis 19:1), prior to unleashing His justified wrath upon them. God’s blessing bestowed upon those who dwelt in the cities of the plain was Him going personally to them in attempt to persuade them to cease all sin. Regrettably, both blessings were spoiled when they refused to accept God’s commandment to turn away from their lustful ways. Verily, it is righteous to come to terms with the harsh truth that mankind’s refusal to heed God’s Word is the real source of society’s anguish, ever since Eden. It is heinous to point an accusatory finger toward heaven and blame God for the consequences of our own sins, especially when He continues to provide for us although we are undeserving of such blessings. Truly, let such bogus and unfounded accusations be far from Him, for “this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20).