Why do people suffer?

At our family Christmas Party on the 23rd, someone raised this age-old question. In particular, why do those who are apparently innocent, such as infants, suffer disabilities? My response was: I don’t know, most of the time. Not because there is no answer. But because the answer may not have been revealed yet.

In any case, we all suffer, to different degrees, and in different ways. What matters is not how healthy/unhealthy, rich/poor, pretty/ugly, smart/stupid, etc. we are. But how we act in the circumstances. God is fair not in the sense of giving everyone exactly the same. He is fair in demanding from a person according to what the person is given.

In fact, instead of asking (or in addition to) why some people suffer in a certain way, perhaps we should (also) ask why we don’t. There are lots of hungry people in this world. Why are we the ones with enough to eat? There are lots of people living in the fear of war or under repressive regimes. Why are we the ones living freely? Is there some purpose is that we are given so much already? Is there something we should be doing with what we are given?

Then on the following day (24th) we went to Hong Chi PineHill Special School to visit the kids with special needs. They seem happy enough, despite their sufferings. Their contentment, their smiles, and their guilelessness should teach us something about what is really valuable in life. And if our little effort can bring a little bit more joy into their lives, isn’t it something?

We have in our hands the power to make our lives and those around us more, or less, enjoyable and meaningful. It is our decision.