Stuff
I am probably going to offend someone with this post. If I do, I am very sorry. If you are easily offended, please do not read. If you are sensitive, please do not read. That being said, these are my opinions, and my religious beliefs. I stand by my right to have them, and to think what I want to think. Thank you.
I recently had an upsetting conversation with my aunt. Her sister, my other aunt, died a few years ago. She blames God. (For the record, I am a Christian.) I do not. I believe that it is her(my aunt that died) husband's fault. He neglected her when she was sick. She did not have the strength to get help herself, and he did not get help for her, which he should have done. That was part of the covenant they made when they married. It is also her fault, in a way. When she first started getting sick, and she knew what kind of man he was, she could have left. She didn't. She had options she didn't take. She stayed in that situation, with that man, and the results aren't too surprising. God gave us free will, the ability and the right to make our own choices, and we have to live(or die) with the consequences. This means that bad things do indeed happen to good people, and it is not God's fault. It is our fault, for letting sin into the world. He created a world without sin, and we fell. Then, in His infinite mercy, He saved us. He made our suffering mean something. Before, our suffering was just the consequences of our(or others') bad behaviour, or just chance. Now, we can align our suffering with His, and it can sanctify us. Purify our sins, and bring us closer to Him. But, we have to have the right attitude. She also made a point about how she is suffering financially, and in the Bible it says, (paraphrased) don't worry about material things, He will provide what you need. She feels the Bible may be all lies, because He isn't providing what she needs. But, what she can't see is, you have to rely on Him, to have faith, and she doesn't. If you don't have faith, if you try to rely on yourself, things go bad, and get worse. This doesn't mean that you don't have to work, or that you can just sit around not doing anything, because the Bible also says(paraphrased): if you don't work, you don't eat. What this means is that we have to try our best, and let God handle the rest. He never asks for more than your best. If it isn't enough, He will provide, provided that you have faith in him to do so.
I recently had an upsetting conversation with my aunt. Her sister, my other aunt, died a few years ago. She blames God. (For the record, I am a Christian.) I do not. I believe that it is her(my aunt that died) husband's fault. He neglected her when she was sick. She did not have the strength to get help herself, and he did not get help for her, which he should have done. That was part of the covenant they made when they married. It is also her fault, in a way. When she first started getting sick, and she knew what kind of man he was, she could have left. She didn't. She had options she didn't take. She stayed in that situation, with that man, and the results aren't too surprising. God gave us free will, the ability and the right to make our own choices, and we have to live(or die) with the consequences. This means that bad things do indeed happen to good people, and it is not God's fault. It is our fault, for letting sin into the world. He created a world without sin, and we fell. Then, in His infinite mercy, He saved us. He made our suffering mean something. Before, our suffering was just the consequences of our(or others') bad behaviour, or just chance. Now, we can align our suffering with His, and it can sanctify us. Purify our sins, and bring us closer to Him. But, we have to have the right attitude. She also made a point about how she is suffering financially, and in the Bible it says, (paraphrased) don't worry about material things, He will provide what you need. She feels the Bible may be all lies, because He isn't providing what she needs. But, what she can't see is, you have to rely on Him, to have faith, and she doesn't. If you don't have faith, if you try to rely on yourself, things go bad, and get worse. This doesn't mean that you don't have to work, or that you can just sit around not doing anything, because the Bible also says(paraphrased): if you don't work, you don't eat. What this means is that we have to try our best, and let God handle the rest. He never asks for more than your best. If it isn't enough, He will provide, provided that you have faith in him to do so.