Hopeful Suffering
HOPE IN HARD TIMES
#7 - LEGALISM AND SUFFERING
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#7 - LEGALISM AND SUFFERING

Those of us who live in the Western world often don’t realize how incredibly blessed we are in comparison to people who live in other countries. In America, particularly, we tend to assume that there is ALWAYS a way to solve any problem. Sometimes we conflate this American “can do” attitude with scripture, and we apply it to following Jesus in ways that are not very helpful. Jesus made it clear that for many people, following Him will involve suffering. In fact, the only way for things to be “solved” was for him to suffer.

Too often people approach those who suffer with a shallow attitude, an attitude that says: “This is merely a problem to be solved. If we simply do the right things, our suffering will end.” Though many people may not realize it, this is a kind of legalism. The underlying belief is that the answer to the problem is to behave in the correct way. Which also means that the problem was caused by incorrect behavior. If these things are the case, it is also appropriate to look down on those who suffer, because their suffering is merely a result of the fact that they haven’t followed the rules correctly.

However, the truth is, not everything is solved so easily, and sometimes, perhaps, God is up to something different than just fixing something in this temporary life.

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Hopeful Suffering
HOPE IN HARD TIMES
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