C. S. Lewis on Suffering

Why does God allow us to suffer if He is all-good and loves us? Many today confuse love with kindness. C. S. Lewis wrote:

"By the goodness of God we mean nowadays almost exclusively His lovingness...by Love, in this context, most of us mean kindness -- the desire to see others than the self happy; not happy in this way or in that, but just happy. What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, 'What does it matter so long as they are contented?' We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven -- a senile benevolence who, as they say, 'liked to see young people enjoying themselves' and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, 'a good time was had by all.'" (Source).

This reminds me of the scripture in 2nd Nephi:

"Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 28:7-8).

A loving God, according to many, would simply dote on His children. Many think He should be like the grandfather who spoils His grandkids and then hands them back to the parents. We think God should just let us have a good time, eating, drinking, and partying. However, God really does love us, which means that He, like any good parent, allows His children to learn by experience. How many parents, as their children learn to walk, never allow them to fall down? Parents do not like to see their children hurt or upset but it would be a spoiled child who always had its way and never once got hurt.

Again, it is because God loves us that He allows us to suffer. It is part of His plan for us to become like Him. We should not confuse love with kindness, as C. S. Lewis so eloquently pointed out. When people ask why God allows us to suffer, they do not understand the nature of God or His plan for us. This is not necessarily their fault but the question is evidence of ignorance or at least temporary blindness.