Redefining the Goodness of God 

“Perfect goodness can never debate about the end to be attained, and perfect wisdom cannot debate about the means most suited to achieve it.” C.S. Lewis 

     In order to gain a deeper understanding of the character of God in relation to suffering, I would have to first define what I imagine goodness to be. I will say ahead of time, that I would rather doubt my own conceptions of goodness and hold them up to critique, rather than to heedlessly disparage the goodness of God. If I would presume to accuse God or His motives of being anything less than good, I must first clarify what I think I mean by the concept of good or be in error from the outset.

I might begin by equating goodness with love. We speak of love as the apex, the ultimate virtue. Yet, it is quite possible for love to become something other than good. An inordinate love of drink is not goodness by any stretch, nor is excessive love in a misguided romance. 

Kindness may also sometimes appear to be good and in most cases is but what happens when an act of kindness—such as lying to spare someone’s feelings—becomes a cruelty? 

Freedom from pain may seem like an ultimate good. We would like to imagine a world with no pain at all. Yet this too is unrealistic when we consider how pain can be useful—the discomfort of fever driving out the disease for instance—and thereby transformed from something injurious into an irrefutable good.

How does God then view goodness? Can goodness be recognized absent its counterpart? The worldview defines good and evil in earthly terms, as dichotomies. God may well regard these terms—goodness at least—in an altogether different light. Perhaps God considers a desirable end—a gargantuan growth in character generated through tragedy, for instance—sufficient to justify a horror of a means. Such actions would seem utterly heartless of God unless He foresaw a greater good that is not immediately discernible to the sufferer. Is it possible that God is far more interested in our character development than our level of comfort, and the process by which He attains that end He considers the ultimate good? When He says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect,” (Matthew 5:48) and we know that perfection is beyond our reach, could God in actuality be stating His intention to work within us to make that happen, come what may?

Absent further revelation however, suffering’s purpose remains obscure. We are on this earth and bombarded by sensations and thought processes the purpose of which is to keep our focus on the here and now. Yet, a recurring theme throughout scripture is that the effects of suffering are intended to transcend the immediate. One intriguing viewpoint is presented in Paul Billheimer’s book Destined for the Throne. The author defines life on earth as a deliberately planned preparation for life in eternity. He describes our existence as on-the-job training for a future destiny that is yet to be revealed. 

In this interpretation God is characterized as a wise parent raising stalwart offspring capable of engendering uncommon acts of goodness. In the hands of God, the sufferer gains empathy for fellow sufferers, and through hardships is forged into an individual of extraordinary strength. Thus, a dual purpose is accomplished; the believer becomes both exponentially useful on earth and exceptionally well suited for heaven. 

That viewpoint finds its parallel in the human experience. For what parent or teacher does not strive to encourage good character and a sense of accomplishment in their young charges? When a child experiences adversity, or a setback, he or she is admonished to get up and keep going. Strength, independence, and determination are considered admirable reactions to hardship; the traits gained are the desired outcome. The purpose is to enhance a child’s suitability for life, and to effect their successful transition into adulthood.

Taking the point to the extreme, what manner of parent would permit, much less plan, the torture and agonizing death of their own child? Only the One who saw in Christ the end from the beginning and could envision a greater good that so vastly eclipsed the insufferable pain of the moment that it transcended the experience itself. 

     When such a magnificent outcome ensues, the suffering is effectually rendered harmless to the extent that the event itself is not only endurable but—well beyond that—considered desirable.