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Hi there. I am Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo, welcoming you back for the fifteenth episode of our series of talks on the topic, “My Work, Career, and Vocation.” In the previous episode, we discussed about living with stress and anxiety as a norm as we looked at the early life of king David. He was hotly pursued by his archenemy king Saul. Saul viewed him as a threat to the throne and in a jealous rage sought to kill him. In spite of his faith in God, David still had to flee for some time as God did not deliver him immediately. David did not know for how long he had to run and hide. Uncertainty clouded his future in spite of God anointing him to be the next king. But he may have wondered whether he’d live long enough to see that happen.
We also discussed living with failure. All of us have experienced failure of some sort, some of us the failure is major, for others it’s relatively minor. The basketball player Michael Jordan offered encouragement in that he, considered by many to be one of the most successful professional athletes, experienced failure a number of times. In fact, he credited past failure for his success. By his example, we learn that failing to try some venture is worse than trying and failing. Failure does not need to define us or summarize our lives. We can learn from our failures and grow stronger as a result.
Failure itself or the fear of failure can trigger stress and anxiety. When something fails to materialize, we’re disappointed and frustrated. Repeated failure or the elusiveness of a hoped for solution or success can discourage, trigger anger, and could result in bitterness or cynicism. It does not have to end this way. It’s a matter of perspective and philosophy of life. Jordan claimed he missed thousands of shots and lose a number of critical games but he was not deterred. He kept trying and eventually succeeded. David too would eventually become king without compromising his principles, namely not murdering Saul when he had the chance, even though Saul, for his part, tried his best to end David’s life.
The question of a higher power that Christians call God comes to the fore. In particular, we want to know if belief and dependence on this higher power have practical implications. Over several episodes so far, when we referred to king David or the lament psalms, we assume God’s existence and involvement in our affairs. Does belief in God guarantee success? It seems that way for David. But we exercise caution in applying anything from his life to ours. We’re not designated to be a king for one thing. Through David, according to prophecy, will come the Messiah who will rule over an eternal kingdom. That is unique to David. In spite of this glorious destiny, however, David still led a very difficult life marked by threats and danger at nearly every turn. Even on this aspect, most of us do not normally face life-threatening danger.
What we want to clarify that is of general application to most of us is that belief and reliance in a God, especially one characterized as being good, loving, and generous, does not imply unconditional success and prosperity in life. We believe God answers prayer, provides for our needs, and has a purpose for us to fulfill. But that does not mean he will keep us from suffering affliction, hardship, disappointment, uncertainty, and even failure. As we noted in previous episodes, life is tough and can be messy. Some of the messiness are our doing and some are not our fault. That does not imply that God does not love us or has abandoned us.
Several possible explanations come to mind. One, God permits challenges and hardship in order to strengthen our faith in him. Faith is a highly valued virtue before him. It means confidence in him, trust in his goodness and love, even when there is no tangible evidence to substantiate that confidence. Indeed, if such evidence is forthcoming, we won’t need faith. Two, we live in a world where corruption, poverty, and climate change, pollution, destruction of natural resources, and wars cause widespread suffering. As I shared earlier, a friend suffered a groundless but damaging performance review after complaining about his supervisor’s unfair treatment against him. He felt that he was denied a promotion because of his ethnicity not because of incompetence or poor performance. He had received consistent good evaluations up to time he logged his complaint. Then came the poor review. But instead of specifying failures in productivity or execution of responsibility, he was labelled uncooperative and not being a team player, rather subjective issues that were hard to quantify. He suspected that he was the victim of revenge. But his supervisor denied it. Faced with the impenetrable glass ceiling, he decided to retire. There was no viable recourse. He could have applied for another job but, as he was older, his chances for a position that paid as well was poor. As a Christian, he brought his predicament before the Lord and asked for divine intervention. He shared his story with his Christian friends and they also prayed for him. But the desired resolution was not forthcoming. God did not answer his request as hoped.
We can react in one of three ways. First, we say God is good but he’s not all powerful so he cannot guarantee good things. Second, we say God is all powerful but he’s not good. And third, we say God is good and all powerful and for some unknown reason he allows bad things to happen. The third option implies living life with the tension of this apparent contradiction for which we have no explanation. We can’t answer anyone’s challenge that God is either not all powerful or he’s not good. The evidence in the world seems to argue for the first or second option. It takes faith to live with the third option. Years later, my friend has moved on and staying active in retirement. As he has confessed, the episode with his former supervisor still leaves a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to mind occasionally. But he doesn’t dwell on it. He’s careful not become bitter. He knows that attitude would poison all other areas of his life and affect adversely his relationships.
Bad things can also happen in church. The faith community is not immune. Years ago, a church I attended experienced a power struggle among the leaders. Tension was high. Arguments would erupt publicly. Ill feeling was palatable. One time someone berated the pastor’s child in the church hallway in accusing the pastor for some wrong. It was entirely inappropriate. The child was not at fault. For an adult, a stranger, to target an adolescent must have been traumatic and confusing. Onlookers would have been disturbed. For fights to break out in church, supposedly a sanctuary from the ills of the world, where God’s presence, love, and peace should rule, damages the church’s ability to fulfill its mission objective. The church fight became a scandal in the surrounding community. A non-Christian coworker mentioned to me at work that he knew about the church’s problem and stated that it was not good. Here was a non-believer who supposedly did not have the spiritual discernment expected of believers giving his assessment of the deplorable situation. Even though he did not attend church or had faith in God, he strongly believed the church should be unified and model love between members. Thus, he soundly condemned the infighting between Christians. As a believer, I felt embarrassed and shame that Christians gave such a poor witness to the world. No way would anyone outside be attracted to God because of this unfolding drama. I had no response to my colleague. I remained awkwardly silent.
Had my friend been younger when he ran afoul of his boss, he could not simply retire. Either he remained in the office and toughed it out or he looked for employment elsewhere. Many of us would choose the latter knowing that staying in a toxic environment with no chance of receiving a positive performance review, let alone getting a raise or promotion, would undermine our emotional health and self-esteem. But what about foreign workers who are in the country because of their work permit? Job mobility is very difficult if not impossible. The money they earn cannot be matched back home and they need to support their families. Two things they would likely do. First, they would not complain about their boss knowing the inevitable consequences. Second, they would forebear a bad situation at work. They need the job so they endure in silence. They’re not happy but that’s the sacrifice they feel they must make for the sake of family.
When God remains silent and not answer our prayers and we continue to struggle with whatever issue that ails us, our biggest challenge is maintaining the proper view of God, that he is still good and loving and he is still all powerful. What compounds the tension we experience on a daily basis is trying to respond to those who know our situation and query us about God and our attitude toward him. Can we sincerely affirm our faith in a good and mighty God? It’s one thing to say something we don’t believe in, but it’s an entirely different challenge to believe even if we cannot answer satisfactorily those who ask us.
Questions and Comments
1. How important is belief in a higher power of God to you?
2. Do you struggle with the apparent contradiction between a good God and evil in the world?
3. Have you faced a bad situation at work? How did you respond?