Life Marks: LIVING IN A SADD WORLD
I’ve often used the acronym SADD to describe the world in which we live.
The “S” stands for Sin – People sin against us either in word or in deed. That’s always painful, and we have all taken the brunt of another person’s anger and verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse. But let’s not forget that we can also “dish it out” to others. Yes, we have born the sin of others directed toward us, but let’s be honest, we have also caused pain in the lives of others because of our own sin.
The “A” stands for Accidents. We are all fully aware that accidents happen to all of us at one time or another. Of course there are the “big” ones like automobile, train, or plane accidents, but even something as minor as “accidentally” stubbing our toe or “accidentally” cutting our finger qualify as “accidents.” And yes, for those who seem to be “accident prone,” maybe you have gained the reputation of being, “an accident waiting to happen!” Martin Short in the movie “Pure Luck” was one such person (one of the funniest movies I have ever seen). On the other hand, quite sadly, some accidents result in bodily injury from which the victim will never fully recover.
The first “D” stands for Diseases. Yes, we have all had run-ins with disease. We have all had a nasty cold or a bout with the flu. But there are also those debilitating and deadly diseases that we are all aware of. I suspect that we all have friends or relatives who live with chronic pain or a debilitating disease like MS or ALS, or are dealing with heart or lung disease, or of course, cancer in all of its ugly forms. Peggy and I have lost some dear friends who have died of cancer! I’ve had to deal with skin cancer myself, but fortunately, none of my issues to date have been “life-threatening.”
The final “D” stands for Disasters. We would classify most of our current events as “natural disasters.” That is, they happen during the course of natural events such as weather-related phenomena and occasional sudden and violent shifting of the earth’s crust. The results of these natural disasters are often catastrophic, resulting in significant structural damage and usually loss of life. I can imagine that none of us can forget the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (the fifth deadliest natural disaster in history) which caused an estimated death of over 280,000 people.
We struggle to make sense of having to live in such a SADD world. It’s not my purpose here to deal with the philosophical and theological questions of “evil,” or even the question of how a “loving God could allow such things to happen.” Although we can try to make sense of all of this and in fact, someone in the Bible tried to make sense of all the calamities that befell him. And while he searched for answers, God remained silent. So, let me tell you about a man named “Job,” someone whom James mentioned in the New Testament as having a great deal of “endurance” (Js. 5:11).
One day, Satan entered through the back door of heaven and struck a deal with God. He wanted to prove to God that Job honors and reveres Him only because He had blessed him so abundantly in every aspect of life. Satan’s deal was this: “Let me ‘mess’ with him, and then stand back and we can both watch him curse you to your face!” God said, “Go ahead and do what you want with Job, but spare his life.” And that’s just what Satan did. He removed his family, his wealth, and his health. As he sat in the dust bemoaning what had happened to him, Job cried out to God, wanting to know the reasons for his great misfortune. Although he never once “cursed God,” He felt that he was the target of God’s judgment, and because he was unaware of any sin he had committed to deserve this, he wondered why God had unleashed such pain and suffering on him.
Job asked, “Why do you consider me an enemy?” (Job 13:24); “Have I sinned? What have I done to you? Why have you set me up as a target for your arrows?” (Job 7:20); “Why do the wicked continue to live and the righteous are taken away?” (Job 21:7). And I suspect that Job is not alone in his questioning God. We’ve all asked those questions, and then wait for an answer, which seems to never come. So what do we do?
In the end, after 37 chapters in the Book of Job, God finally speaks, and when He does, He responds to Job’s questions by asking some questions of His own. He begins by asking Job, “Who are you to counsel me without understanding?” (Job. 38:1-2). And then, God spends the next four chapters (38-41) asking Job a series of questions about the universe and its constellations, as well as about the earth, weather, animals, birds, sea creatures, and human beings, all questions that were impossible for Job to answer. For example, “Job, where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding” (Job. 38:4). Or how about this one, “Job, do you understand the expanse of the earth? (Job. 38:18). Or this one, “Do you know the laws that govern the heavens and fix their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:33).
Humbled by his lack of understanding, Job finally repents in “dust and ashes,” and has only these words to say to God, “I have complained about things that I don’t understand. Teach me your ways, and I will listen” (Job 42:3-6). Centuries later, God told the prophet Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways” (Is. 55:8-9)
And so for each of us, we just don’t know the answer to the myriad of “Why?” questions that we so often ask. Like Job, we must acknowledge our lack of understanding, and rely upon God’s wisdom in allowing pain and loss to come our way. The Bible says that even when we don’t know the “whys,” we can trust the fact that God is a wise, loving, and compassionate God who is “…close to the brokenhearted” (Ps. 34:18) and does all things to accomplish His purposes, and for those who know and love Him, they are accomplished for our good as well (Rom. 8:28).
We may not be able to make sense of the recent tragedies, but we can rest in the fact that to God, they are not “senseless.” And I believe that is how we can live our lives with confidence and joy, knowing that while His “eye is on the sparrow,” it is also on each one of us.
