Why Do Christians Suffer?
Have you ever asked yourself why Christians must suffer? Why does God expect us to lose everything ‘just’ for Him? If God loved us as He claims, why not allow us to be honored and comforted now? What if I told you Christians don’t suffer? Would you want to be Christian?
Brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3.1-8
If you’re still reading today’s blog, chances are pretty good you are either curious about Christianity or you want to know how you can be a Christian without suffering. Give today’s blog a chance. You may be surprised.
Let me begin with today’s reading from Saint Paul. He says he “suffered the loss of all things” to gain Christ, but the tone of his letter seems to suggest he wasn’t ‘suffering’ at all. He seems content with losing everything ‘just’ for Christ. Doesn’t Christ promise to eliminate our suffering?
Christ said, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11.30) He said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8.36) But, Christ also said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Mark 8.34)
If you are a fan of Be Transfigured, then you know I often address suffering. The question isn’t whether we lose power, prestige, money and honor on earth. The question is whether we consider those losses to be suffering. If we don’t care about them, losing them is not suffering.
Christ knows that we can’t split our loyalty. We either desire Him or we desire the world. “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16.13)
So, we cannot avoid loss, but we can avoid experiencing the loss as suffering. That is the difference between joy and happiness. Saint Paul had joy that he ‘lost everything’ because he lost it all for Christ. Having joy is about being content. Being happy is only skin deep.
Being a Christian means we will lose ‘stuff’ for the sake of Christ. Suffering is a state of mind. If you want to eliminate suffering in your Christian journey, start with your mindset. That’s called repentance, or changing the way you think.
Let me return to today’s reading. Saint Paul was content because he considered the things he lost “as refuse” and therefore it didn’t bother him. How do we get there? It begins with the Orthodox way of life, a life of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and the sacraments.
Stop thinking of the Orthodox way of life as a burden. Start thinking of the Orthodox way of life as ‘practice’ to change our mindset. Little by little our loss will no longer be suffering, and we will experience contentment and joy in Christ. So, what about it? Are you in?
