Blessing And Suffering by Association
Part One
“… He causes His sun (overt blessings) to rise on the evil (people) and the good (people), and sends rain (adversity) on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5: 45 NASB parentheses mine).”
During periods of national moral incline, evil people experience the sunshine of divine blessings along side of the godly people living among them. During times of national discipline, godly people suffer along side of the evil people around them.
This explains, at least in part, why bad things happen to good people, and why the wicked seem to prosper.
I said “seem” to prosper, because prosperity here on Earth, like our appointed life span, is relatively short-lived in comparison to the never-ending eternity that lies ahead. Our physical life and or our earthly prosperity could be taken away in a second. At death, all of our Earthly prosperity, if any, becomes the possession of someone else. You can’t take any of it with you.
Before responding with tar and feathers, note that, “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood (OTHER PEOPLE), but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6: 12 NASB parenthesis mine).”
During periods of national moral decline, attempting to impose morality through secular legislation and law enforcement can prove to be counterproductive. Such strategies often open the door for legal challenges that can end up granting the legal right to engage in the very activities that the law was supposed to eliminate or prevent.
Balancing the need for control and the permitting the exercise of free will, can place a society on a slippery slope, with divine blessing or divine discipline hanging in the balance.
In a free society, when the majority, or even a significant minority, of its population chooses to engage in any given activity, law enforcement does not have the means to turn back the tide.
Many of the principles within the Ten Commandments, that have been around for 3500 years, are reiterated in the criminal laws of virtually every civilized society, but such things as idolatry, adultery, murder, and theft remain to be a part of the human environment.
As a result of moral decline, the days of receiving divine blessing are numbered.
If the Matt. 7: 12 Golden Rule, of only doing unto others what you would have them do to you, were to be honored, there would be no need for many other criminal laws. But until the self-centered, rebellious, competing, fallen nature in Man is removed, this is not going to happen.
In a democracy, the majority rules, but does not over-rule God. There is divine national blessing and divine national discipline in store for every nation here on Earth (1) Leviticus 26/Acts 17: 26), rather they acknowledge God and His sovereignty or not.
Governmentally rejecting God or the things of God does not remove the accountability of a nation’s leadership, or it’s population.
Denial of His existence and ignoring His significance does not make Him go away.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man (nation) sows, this he (it) will also reap (Gal. 6: 7 NASB parenthesis mine).”
Both Biblical and secular history confirms that nations inevitably go through periods of moral incline and moral decline, setting the stage for the general population to experience the blessings or the adversity suffered by association.
If one lives long enough, he or she will likely experience both scenarios, as his or her society goes through periods of spiritual revival with moral incline, and reversionism with moral decline.
Regardless of what form of government, or what religious beliefs that are in view, ALL nations are subject to divine sovereignty (2) Acts 17: 26).
God has and will make use of both godly and ungodly nations, empires, and coalitions to bring about His master plan for the human race.
His master plan was written down in the Divine Decree before the creation of the first man (Adam), let alone the first nation.
Many promote democracy as being the ideal form of secular government. But the inherent flaw with democracy is that during periods of moral decline, the errant majority (3) Matt. 7: 13), leads the nation down the wrong path.
Christians fight the good fight best by setting the good example themselves. What should be the obvious difference in their attitudes, priorities, choices, and behaviors between their lives, and the lives of their worldly-minded counterparts, is what sets the stage for the 1Pet. 3: 15 opportunities to participate in the Matt. 28: 19, 20, Great Commission.
God’s blessings or stages of discipline that He brings to a nation in moral incline or moral decline is clearly laid out in Leviticus 26. Although this passage of Scripture was initially addressed to the ancient Hebrews, the principle of divine blessings or divine discipline applies to all (4) Acts 17: 26) countries, on a national level, and to all individuals, on a personal level.
Blessing or suffering by association explains, in part, why good things can happen to bad people, and why bad things can happen to good people.
Like Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, people tend to have an open ear to God in the midst of a crisis, but return to their old ways as soon as the problems are resolved.
Contrary to what the “name it and claim it” groups would have us believe; Christians are not always delivered from the results of such things as natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, accidental injury, physical death, disease, and warfare. Nor are they immune to suffering by association.
It is during adversity that the testing of one’s faith becomes a personal challenge that is not missed by the observing eyes of angels and men.
As Job, who lost his children, health, wealth, and social status, put it, "…You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2: 10 NASB).”
Having personally benefited, I would never dispute the power of prayer or the deliverance through faith, but there are times when the answer to our prayer requests is going to be, “No.”
Christians should comfort other believers by telling them that everything is going to work out for the Romans 8: 28 good, but with the understanding that working out for the good may include suffering, and in some cases, their earthly departure.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Himself prayed that if it were possible, that God’s plan of salvation be accomplished by other means than the cross, but concluded the prayer by stating that the will of God the Father be done. See Matt. 26: 39, 42.
Following His lead, our prayer requests should begin with the phrase, if it be Your will.
Furthermore, not only do Christians suffer alongside of the ungodly during periods of divine discipline, they will always suffer persecution for taking a godly stand (5) 2Tim. 3: 12), here in the devil’s world.
Before we blame all the negativity around us on evil people, keep in mind that one of the reasons evil pervades is because good people stood or stand by and let it happen.
The evil that one generation tolerates, is accepted by the next, and promoted by the next, until evil is called good, and good is called evil (6) Isa. 5: 20).
Atheists, agnostics, and weak believers will ask, if there is a God, then why don’t He just take away all the evil in the world? The answer, in part, is found in Luke 9: 54, 55.
“When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of (Luke 9: 54, 55 NASB).””
If God were to stomp out ALL of the evil in the world, no human soul would be left.
(To be continued in Part Two…)
(1)\tLev. 26/Acts 17: 26 (2) Acts. 17: 26 (3) Matt. 7: 13 (4) Acts. 17: 26 (5) 2Tim. 3: 12 (6) Isa. 5: 20
Part One
“… He causes His sun (overt blessings) to rise on the evil (people) and the good (people), and sends rain (adversity) on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5: 45 NASB parentheses mine).”
During periods of national moral incline, evil people experience the sunshine of divine blessings along side of the godly people living among them. During times of national discipline, godly people suffer along side of the evil people around them.
This explains, at least in part, why bad things happen to good people, and why the wicked seem to prosper.
I said “seem” to prosper, because prosperity here on Earth, like our appointed life span, is relatively short-lived in comparison to the never-ending eternity that lies ahead. Our physical life and or our earthly prosperity could be taken away in a second. At death, all of our Earthly prosperity, if any, becomes the possession of someone else. You can’t take any of it with you.
Before responding with tar and feathers, note that, “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood (OTHER PEOPLE), but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6: 12 NASB parenthesis mine).”
During periods of national moral decline, attempting to impose morality through secular legislation and law enforcement can prove to be counterproductive. Such strategies often open the door for legal challenges that can end up granting the legal right to engage in the very activities that the law was supposed to eliminate or prevent.
Balancing the need for control and the permitting the exercise of free will, can place a society on a slippery slope, with divine blessing or divine discipline hanging in the balance.
In a free society, when the majority, or even a significant minority, of its population chooses to engage in any given activity, law enforcement does not have the means to turn back the tide.
Many of the principles within the Ten Commandments, that have been around for 3500 years, are reiterated in the criminal laws of virtually every civilized society, but such things as idolatry, adultery, murder, and theft remain to be a part of the human environment.
As a result of moral decline, the days of receiving divine blessing are numbered.
If the Matt. 7: 12 Golden Rule, of only doing unto others what you would have them do to you, were to be honored, there would be no need for many other criminal laws. But until the self-centered, rebellious, competing, fallen nature in Man is removed, this is not going to happen.
In a democracy, the majority rules, but does not over-rule God. There is divine national blessing and divine national discipline in store for every nation here on Earth (1) Leviticus 26/Acts 17: 26), rather they acknowledge God and His sovereignty or not.
Governmentally rejecting God or the things of God does not remove the accountability of a nation’s leadership, or it’s population.
Denial of His existence and ignoring His significance does not make Him go away.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man (nation) sows, this he (it) will also reap (Gal. 6: 7 NASB parenthesis mine).”
Both Biblical and secular history confirms that nations inevitably go through periods of moral incline and moral decline, setting the stage for the general population to experience the blessings or the adversity suffered by association.
If one lives long enough, he or she will likely experience both scenarios, as his or her society goes through periods of spiritual revival with moral incline, and reversionism with moral decline.
Regardless of what form of government, or what religious beliefs that are in view, ALL nations are subject to divine sovereignty (2) Acts 17: 26).
God has and will make use of both godly and ungodly nations, empires, and coalitions to bring about His master plan for the human race.
His master plan was written down in the Divine Decree before the creation of the first man (Adam), let alone the first nation.
Many promote democracy as being the ideal form of secular government. But the inherent flaw with democracy is that during periods of moral decline, the errant majority (3) Matt. 7: 13), leads the nation down the wrong path.
Christians fight the good fight best by setting the good example themselves. What should be the obvious difference in their attitudes, priorities, choices, and behaviors between their lives, and the lives of their worldly-minded counterparts, is what sets the stage for the 1Pet. 3: 15 opportunities to participate in the Matt. 28: 19, 20, Great Commission.
God’s blessings or stages of discipline that He brings to a nation in moral incline or moral decline is clearly laid out in Leviticus 26. Although this passage of Scripture was initially addressed to the ancient Hebrews, the principle of divine blessings or divine discipline applies to all (4) Acts 17: 26) countries, on a national level, and to all individuals, on a personal level.
Blessing or suffering by association explains, in part, why good things can happen to bad people, and why bad things can happen to good people.
Like Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, people tend to have an open ear to God in the midst of a crisis, but return to their old ways as soon as the problems are resolved.
Contrary to what the “name it and claim it” groups would have us believe; Christians are not always delivered from the results of such things as natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, accidental injury, physical death, disease, and warfare. Nor are they immune to suffering by association.
It is during adversity that the testing of one’s faith becomes a personal challenge that is not missed by the observing eyes of angels and men.
As Job, who lost his children, health, wealth, and social status, put it, "…You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2: 10 NASB).”
Having personally benefited, I would never dispute the power of prayer or the deliverance through faith, but there are times when the answer to our prayer requests is going to be, “No.”
Christians should comfort other believers by telling them that everything is going to work out for the Romans 8: 28 good, but with the understanding that working out for the good may include suffering, and in some cases, their earthly departure.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Himself prayed that if it were possible, that God’s plan of salvation be accomplished by other means than the cross, but concluded the prayer by stating that the will of God the Father be done. See Matt. 26: 39, 42.
Following His lead, our prayer requests should begin with the phrase, if it be Your will.
Furthermore, not only do Christians suffer alongside of the ungodly during periods of divine discipline, they will always suffer persecution for taking a godly stand (5) 2Tim. 3: 12), here in the devil’s world.
Before we blame all the negativity around us on evil people, keep in mind that one of the reasons evil pervades is because good people stood or stand by and let it happen.
The evil that one generation tolerates, is accepted by the next, and promoted by the next, until evil is called good, and good is called evil (6) Isa. 5: 20).
Atheists, agnostics, and weak believers will ask, if there is a God, then why don’t He just take away all the evil in the world? The answer, in part, is found in Luke 9: 54, 55.
“When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of (Luke 9: 54, 55 NASB).””
If God were to stomp out ALL of the evil in the world, no human soul would be left.
(To be continued in Part Two…)
(1)\tLev. 26/Acts 17: 26 (2) Acts. 17: 26 (3) Matt. 7: 13 (4) Acts. 17: 26 (5) 2Tim. 3: 12 (6) Isa. 5: 20