Blame
And His disciples asked him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind.” John 9:2 NASB
Who sinned – Someone has to be at fault! Life doesn’t go the way we want it to. Someone’s to blame! “Lord, this isn’t fair. I don’t deserve this. Who made this happen to me?”
No human being alive hasn’t had a thought like this. “Who sinned?” tis hemarten. “Who missed the mark?” “It wasn’t me, Lord, standing in the need of prayer. It had to be someone else. Just tell me who so I will know who to blame.”
The disciples live under a false assumption. It’s an assumption that pervades religious thinking. We all know that sin = consequences. When someone sins, bad things happen. We have personal experience to verify this equation. When we miss the mark, the Bible tells us that inevitable tragedy occurs. In fact, one of the core principles of the Hebrew view of sin is that disobedience cannot be separated from its results. The two are hand in glove. The results might not be immediately obvious to anyone but the sinner and God, but they are there nonetheless.
But the reverse of this equation is not true. Bad consequences do not equal sin (consequences ≠ sin). This is the lesson the disciples had to learn and it is just as important for us today. The equation works in only one direction. The reason this man was born blind had nothing to do with someone’s sin. It was all about the glorification of the Father on this kairos day. He was born blind so that this day could happen. Yeshua points toward the purpose of his blindness, not the cause.
We are far too quick to follow the disciples in their erroneous theology. Tragedy befalls someone. We are apt to suggest that they lacked faith or had some secret sin or lived unrepentantly. We look for cause and effect and if we can’t find it in them, we proceed through their history. We are like Job. “Just tell me why, Lord, why this happened.” But Yeshua redirects our perspective. We must look for the purpose, not the cause. What is God doing with this? Where will God take this situation? How will He be glorified in it?
I can easily imagine the followers of Yeshua praying that God would release Him from the false accusers at His trial or from the Roman torturers. If there were churches in that day, the prayer chain would be buzzing. “Our leader, Yeshua, has been taken prisoner. Pray that God will set Him free. Pray that He will not be crucified. How can this be happening to an innocent man? It must be Judas’ fault. It must be the Romans’ fault, or the religious hierarchy?” Do you suppose we would ever have asked, “What is God’s purpose here?” Sometimes bad consequences are exactly what God engineers.
Topical Index: sin, consequences, tis hemarten, fault, blame, John 9:2
Wow! It’s incredible how turning that question around to point to God instead of to us can totally change the perspective on an issue. Instead of asking for an out, ask for God’s purpose. Such a simple shift, but it seems like it would have a powerful impact.
Yes,but! I totally agree that consequences are not always the result of sin. Yet, I have trouble with the conclusion that if it is not sin, then God must be having some grand scheme in mind. I have a friend that has had crippling arthritis since early teens. Now in her fifties, and excruciating pain 24/7, she ask me why? It is time to look at the source of evil. I do not think the consequences are an either/or issue for the one experiencing the consequences. I have come to the conclusion that there is a another source for pain and suffering and that is an agent who working against God. In Job that agent was Satan. Though ultimately defeated, for our time he is alive and well and doing his best to further his work against God. (Pretty strong words from someone who four years ago could not have said this.)
Hi Roy,
A great point and it certainly is in line with Yeshua’s healing of the crippled woman on the Sabbath. She was bound by the Evil One, as He clearly sees. That event underscores that lesson that pain and injury are not always the consequence of sin. As you point out, they are sometimes the work of the one who seeks to bring chaos and destruction to God’s order. My point is only that when we see someone in pain or other debilitating conditions, we are not to assume that sin caused such circumstances. My daughter recently returned from Zambia. She was in a village where there was a young boy who was mentally handicapped. The villagers believed that he had a demon. They chained him to a tree, leaving him there for weeks on end. They equated physical and mental handicaps with evil (sin). Not so long along, we in the West did that same thing. Yeshua deals with such tragic and mistaken thinking.
Thanks, Skip. I had no problem with what you had to say. I just needed to say that there was more. Today I have contributed to stirring the pot, so to speak.
Yes, but .. even with Job, Satan needed God’s permission to execute his bad intentions against Job. God is definitely in control of these things.
My 2c-worth: Bad situations in your life give you an opportunity to declare who your God is. If you choose to look for God’s glory in the situation, you declare that YHVH, the creator of heaven and earth is your God. If you choose to sulk, you choose humanism as your god.
Having said that: Asking “Why?” is necessary before you can make the choice. If it is discipline from Father’s hand, you need to act according. If it is an opportunity to bring glory to His Name, then you have a choice to make.
Few years ago my brother-in-law, a man who walked closely with God, died at the age of 27 from lung-cancer (a childhood injury to his lungs had never healed and later developed into cancer). Two weeks before his death he sat me down and we spoke about God’s position in his situation. My brother-in-law concluded: “God said that He is good. He never said that He is nice. I think we get mixed up with wanting God to be nice, when in fact He is good.” He died suffocating. His last words were “Yes, Jesus. Hallelujah.” He knew that God is Good…
My friend, who is a Christian (Disciples of Christ ordained pastor) has been asking why for almost fifty years. The tragedy is that the pain 24/7 causes exhaustion. There is so little energy to speak or sing praise to God. Her life is confined, as is a prisoner, to a very small circle of space and movement. Believe me, she would like nothing more than to be able to easily get dressed, drive to church and sing in the choir. She would like nothing more than to be able to sing Hallelujah, but the pain is over powering. I am not sure how much permission Satan has for what he is doing to my friend. God took a terrible risk when he created his creatures in such a way that they were free to love Him or not. He too suffers, when those who choose to not love him bring harm to His creation. So I believe.
Roy, I hear you. How do you console your friend? I’ve got a feeling the fact that she is an ordained pastor, shows that she has already made a choice to testify that her God is the Creator and not humanism. So, I guess the “why?” is “Why does the suffering continue?”; “Why is there not healing?”
On this side of the ocean (I’m in Africa), we have a situation where a husband and father of little children, nearly two weeks ago found out he has less than a month to live. He loves the Lord. My concern is his family. How do you protect a small child against the lie that the devil is bound to start whispering in his ear: “God is not nice. Your dad gave his life to Jesus; your dad even served as a leader in the church; your dad laid down his life for others on so many occasions; and then God made him die in this awful way and you were left without a dad. God is not good to you…”
Somewhere in this labyrinth there is that place of rest that is God himself. Somewhere is that brick from John 17:3 where knowing the Father (not knowing about the Father) is the only place where you can be consoled.
Have you or your friend ever read the book “Tortured for Christ” from Richard Wurmbrand? It can be downloaded free from the e-sword website.
Thank you, Ilze. It is a tough issue. I am currently working on a course, “The Philosophy of Evil,” which is challenging me. I share some of these challenges with my friend. You are right on target that the evil one whispers, and sometimes more than a whisper, trying to create doubt. I will check out the e-book you mentioned. Thanks.
Shabbat Shalom Roy,
I have a little girl who lost her first mom when she was three years old to brain cancer, astro-cytoma/glio-blastoma. She battled 7months and 14days from the time she had a brain annerism, to the time she went to sleep, and continuied her journey with Yeshua. This was a time of intense suffering……….. I hate cancer and death and the intense suffering and pain it brings to all those involved. Yet, it was one of the most incredible times in my life with God. I would not have chosen that journey, but I would not trade it for anything else in this world!
There are no easy answers to the question of “WHY?!!!!” Yeshua seemed not to be concerned with the why of the sufferer, but with confronting the sufferer with His loving, compassionate, and healing presence. My beloved was not healed in the fullness we had hoped for, but He met US THERE; in deep intimate ways, and a healing journey it was nonetheless!
I know what it is to be met by Christ in the midst of suffering. I am finding it harder when I see another one suffer for so long without apparent purpose. The key word here is apparent because I know that I do not know it all. (Would like, sometimes, to think I do though.)
Roy, I am glad you have been set free to say what you said/typed – isn’t it wonderful how HE brings us along in our learning & enlightenment to HIS plan… ♥
Jan, thank you for your affirmation.
Shalom Roy,
How does a believing community surround those who have a long term disability or affliction? We are one body and when one suffers we all suffer. This is where the body of Messiah is so disjointed from one another. How do we we take practical steps to allow the Holy Spirit to put our joints back in place? Please forgive me for making this personal again. I have not been connected very well to the body of believers here since my first wife passed away over 6 years ago, and being sick for the last year has only amplified this disconnection. I hope this does not sound like a complaint. I am longing for REAL COMMUNITY!
1 John 1:1, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life- This is what REAL COMMUNITY looks like; WE ARE HEARD, WE ARE SEEN, WE ARE TOUCHED! There is I believe an added dimension of kingdom advancement when we mingle our lives with the afflicted and disabled. This is our oppurtunity to understand more deeply the heart of Yeshua. I have touched this in my life, but I want to know it more significantly and deeply. In His Care. Brian
Brian,
You have deescribed the issue with clarity and precision. When a member of the body is suffering so, the remainder of the body has trouble understanding or entering into ministry with the sufferer. How is this to be corrected. I do not have the answer yet. My friend and I are exploring ways that she and I may be able to help the congregation reach out to her in ways that are helpful and restorative. As it is now, her pain and separation sounds somewhat like yours. Please do not give up. The Spirit can show us the way.
I have often said that the universal language of humanity is pain. David knew that affliction brings openness to the Father while comfort and affluence often produce complacency and indifference to others. If we are truly part of the one Body, then the affliction of one member is a pain that resonates with all the members. If my foot hurts, my hands help heal, my mind concentrates on how to heal, my eyes shed tears, my ears listen for the comfort I seek. Each member plays a role in the recovery. So now, each member has a role to play in this drama unfolding before us.
I see that these last two TW posts have produced an enormous flood of comments and offers. I recognize that we all feel hurt, separation, discouragement, loneliness. We are able to empathize because we also know what it feels like. This is what connects us. It also connects all those who are ready to turn their pain into dependency on the Lord and on each other. If we becomes the hands and feet of our Master, we can offer what He offered – and in the process heal ourselves as we bear each others burdens.
Shabbat Shalom brother and sisters,
Long term sufferers, those who are born with a disability or affliction, and those who enter an affliction, or disability by the consequences (whatever that might be) of living in this world, has always been a struggle for ancient and modern societies/communities to deal with. Because of the nature of long-term disabilities/afflictions it usually breeds isolation from the rest of society. How to come alongside those of us with long-term disabilities or afflictions, is still an oppurtunity and challenge for Yeshua centered and Torah based communities to take up, and see the kingdom of heaven advance in!
Skip, help us out with the Hebrew perspective on suffering, please … my Greek mindset seem to be winning ….
Once again, the disciples ask the wrong question. That is me. I want the answers to MY questions.
However, the next verse says, “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” – John 9:3
The word MANIFEST indicates something that is made visible that has been hidden or unknown. When the word is followed even further back, it is associated with light.
If only I could perceive the correct question, maybe I could see the LIGHT OF THE WORLD more clearly. It is a constant challenge to reposition my orientation.
Gayle, the apostle Paul, (known to some as Rabbi Sha’ul was afflicted with some sort of malady. We are unclear as to what this actually was, but it bothered Paul so much, he prayed intensely three times for G-d to remove it from his life. His conclusion? – “He said unto me, my strength is made perfect (displayed) in your weakness.” G-d used him mightily right there in his current (suffering) state.
Suffering has been our lot in life ever since the first pair were removed from the garden. “Cursed is the ground for you sake” was the pronouncement of Elohim. The intimate fellowship that Adam once knew while walking with his Creator in the cool of the evening was gone. Why? (remember- it’s okay to ask why- how else will we learn?) Because sin separates. Elohim is a G-d of unity and shalom. (one of the shades of meaning of shalom- “oneness.” One (I believe- a “carlism”) is G-d’s favorite number. Hear O Israel, the LORD our G-d is ONE. “One LORD, one faith, one baptism” One G-d and Father of all… etc. Marriage (with it’s intimate fellowship and unity) is our earthy parable and picture of “unity.” We are (indeed) one in the bond of love. G-d’s love. The love from Above.
G-d knows what He is doing. (I feel really dumb for even saying so..) Yes, Amen, He does. G-d is big, I am small. What shall the minnow say to the ocean he is swimming in? What shall the clay say unto the potter? – How about “not my will (what I want), but yours (what you want) be done?”
We (now) have the mind of Christ, and as is witnessed by many- He (Himself) lived a life of sacrificial love. Yes, brother Skip, “benevolence toward another at cost to myself.” It is- as some of us have been taught from our youth- “other-love.” Yeshua was chock-full of this “other-love.” Our question – “what’s in this for me?” (lol-how Greek!). His mind? (His Hebrew mind)- “how will this action, word, etc… benefit my community?
How will we be able to serve and love others when we cannot even love ourselves? If I am to love my neighbor (and I am) as myself, does this not mean I must first love myself? I must say, if G-d loves me and gave Himself for me (on Calvary’s cross) am I not valuable to Him? Yes, I am. He loves me (and He loves you) with an everlasting love. Ever Faithful. Ever true. This is our G-d. Amen! Hallelu Yah!- it is so!
Yes, -it’s not about “me.” Neither is about you, him or her. We are not the center of the universal. We are not the pivotal point around which everything else flows or originates. G-d is the causal Agent. He is the Source of every good and perfect gift. The sooner we come to the recognition and realization- “it is the LORD”- and we have (what I like to call) the “aha” moment, the better off we will be.
G-d does not mind us asking “why?” G-d ahead, ask. After all, He is your compassionate, understanding ABBA. Why G-d? Why is there all this pain, suffering, tribulation, etc.. Or ask “why me?- It is because G-d is Sovereign. Totally Sovereign. (Remember?- it’s not about me,or you, or him or her) We have become “self-centered” creatures, totally forgetting the hand that feeds us. -(Yes, give us LORD our daily bread).
Job’s friends (more like his accusers), knew full well the law of sowing and reaping. It is a law whether you live north or south of the equator. We (all) will reap what we have sown. This includes sin and this includes love. We cannot sow our wild oats and then pray for crop failure. The only option we have is to ask “Father, forgive me for I have sinned.” And sin, my friends is what nailed Yeshua to His tslav. Never (ever) take sin lightly or joke about sin. Go to His cross and see Him there, -wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading- blind and unheeding- dying for me. Love, such as the world has never seen before- The sacrificial Lamb, Yeshua HaMashiach, giving for us all-the very blood and breath of G-d.
Ignore this at your own peril.
Yeshua is ADONAI. For the Greeks among us,- Jesus is LORD. (Please notice the period) He is. Totally. LORD of heaven and of earth. LORD of the dead and of the living. LORD of the telescopic and the microscopic. Every hair, my friends, on every head is numbered. Why?- this is our G-d. Awesome in power, and even more amazing in love and compassion. Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, -pardon for you and for me.
Repeat this verse one hundred times or until it sinks down into the depths of your soul. Romans 8.1. Rabbi Sha’ul concludes his argument concerning our new relationship with the living G-d. “There is therefore now (now) “no condemnation” to those who are in Christ Jesus.” We (who are His) are united in covenant union with YHWH. We are (today) the sons and daughters of G-d. Folks, -this is “shoutin’ grounds.” Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul- my all.
Why do we (all) suffer? Yes, brother Skip- the correct question to ask is – what is the purpose of our suffering? G-d is not random, no, not at all. He is not willy-nilly as we are. No wasted words, no wasted motion. Every event or circumstance in each of our lives is G-d ordained- and He is in the midst of it all. In Him we live and move and have our being. Remember His words?- “in this world you will have tribulation..” He said it. Is this true? Do we suffer tribulation, (pain, anguish, suffering?). Yes, we do. His words are true, always true and faithful. (amen). But, let us read a little further, for some are saying- “what is the rest of the story?” Let us review this again and maybe pay a little more attention (nothing like a little pain to get our attention- right?) to His words. John 16.33 in review.- “I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom. In the world, you have tsuris. But be brave! I have conquered the world!” The “buts” of our Bible are big buts. The power of this “but” would be likened unto a speeding freight train coming down a mountain and then instantly reversed similar to an airboat speeding through the Everglades. A word of reversal. “But”. Yes, this is where G-d shows up. Our extremity is His opportunity. And as those of us who attend the local gym know, “no pain-no gain.” In this world we are going to have tribulation. (just the facts ma’am.) “But” He has (already) overcome. Who is the Overcomer? He is. Who is the Victor? He is. Who is our Champion? He is. “It is the LORD.” And dear ones, – the LORD (ADONAI) is my Shepherd (and yours too)- I shall not want. -What a mighty G-d we serve.
I apologize in advance for the length of this. (maybe Facebook offers a space of 320 characters for a reason- lol!)
Affliction, pain, sorrow. I have my scars and so do you. We are all “wounded soldiers.” Why does G-d wound us? Or even more accurately- does G-d wound us?
Some of my wounds, )most of my wounds- are “self” inflicted. I am the one who caused these things to happen, -not G-d. O, but the finger of blame is so quick to be withdrawn from it’s resting place in the pocket and flung in every direction! BTW- did you know- “it’s all George Bush’s fault”- He’s the one who got us into this mess? Oh really? I never knew one man had so much control and influence. Allow me to say it..(mildly) “hogwash.”
Ah, sweet accusation. It’s so easy, even a caveman can do it. “It’s all your fault.”- There.. I feel better already. Blaming anything and anyone who dares to darken my path. Looking everywhere except where I need to look- “the face looking back at me in the mirror.”
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” We have three (basic) enemies- the world, the flesh and the devil. Christ, the Victor, has destroyed (rendered powerless and ineffective) every one of these. The victory belongs to the LORD. Amen.
Look again at these words: “we walk by faith and NOT by sight.” “Faith (that pleases G-d) comes by hearing and hearing by the word of G-d. Yes, “shema” O Israel. Listen and obey. We must do as G-d (in His book- the Lamb’s book of life) has asked us to do, “walk by faith and not (NOT) by sight. Not “what do I see, “but” what does G-d say? Faith is our “right-response” to what G-d has said (and is saying) through His fully revealed words. G-d said unto Abraham, “go” and the next morning what did Abraham do? He saddled his donkey. The intent of his heart was to do what YHWH had asked him to do and he purposed in his heart to do it. G-d had the “yes” or “amen” of Abraham and this pleased Him greatly and he (Abraham) was called the friend of G-d. Awesome.
When G-d speaks, and He speaks every time we either read or remember His word(s), what is our “right-response?” I truly believe we know the answer to this, for this is not our first “go-round”, we have heard all this before, what?- a hundred times or more? Try “obedience.” We are to live a life of voluntary, whole-hearted obedience to the (already) fully revealed will of G-d. Okay then, -how can we know the will of G-d? We do we go to find this out? Again, we already know the answer- don’t we? (helpful household hint) -“it is written.” We must, we must, read G-d’s book of instruction. We (all of us) “do err-not knowing the scriptures nor the power of G-d.” And that is why I am so excited about this website. Thank you Skip, for all you do. G-d has spoken, -“my word will not return unto me empty, but will accomplish all that I send it to do..” (Isaiah 55.11)
But who are you, O man, to talk back to G-d? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?'” (Romans 9.20)
One last (?) word- Is this our testimony? “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16.25,26)
Put me in this choir- please!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8UiNxJk_ec
Roy,
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and comments yesterday. It was a blessing to me. Can you share the name of the lady you have been walking and sharing Yeshua’s love with? Perhaps myself and others can walk with you and this lady, in our prayers.