Don Stewart :: Why Did God Create Humanity If He Knew There Would Be So Much Pain?

Why Did God Create Humanity If He Knew There Would Be So Much Pain?

God and Us – Question 7

When God created the world as well as the human race He gave humanity achoice. In doing so, He knew that Adam and Eve, the first humans, woulddisobey Him. Since God knows everything, He was certainly aware thatsuffering and pain would follow. If this be the case, then why did Hecreate humanity in the first place? Why create us if it was going to causeso much pain and suffering?

As we look at the situation, we discover that there are several options that God had.

Option 1: God Could Have Chosen Not to Create

First, there is the option that God could have chosen not to create humanity at all. If He exercised this option, then this would not be an issue and we would not be having this discussion. Yet, He did create the human race. We are here.

Option 2: He Could Have Made Us Like Robots

There is a second option. God could have made human beings robots withoutthe ability to choose anything. If that was the case, then there would nothave been sin. There also would not have been choice. If everything wereprogrammed then humanity would not have any significance. There would be nosuch thing as love or meaning to life. We would be no better than amachine. God did not exercise this option.

Option 3: Humanity Had a Choice: They Chose to Sin

There is a third option, the one which God chose to exercise. He decided to make humans with a free will, with legitimate choice. Making choices is part of being a genuine person. When He gave humans choice, the possibility of disobedience was real. When the first humans disobeyed, pain and sorrow became a reality.

For humanity to have any significance there must be a choice. Humankindexercised that choice and rebelled against God. This is why there is painand suffering. The choice of the first humans, Adam and Eve, brought sininto the world. God decided to create humanity with choice. Because oftheir wrong choice, men and women now experience such things as hate, painand suffering.

We Are Not Told Why He Did This

This is what God chose to do. However, God does not tell us why He created humankind with the ability to choose. The Bible merely says that this is the manner in which God made man and woman.

Scripture also emphasizes that God’s ways are not the same as ours. He does not act like us or think like us.

The prophet Isaiah recorded God saying,

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8, 9 NKJV)

We cannot understand the ways and thoughts of God. It is beyond our capacity to comprehend them.

The Apostle Paul told the church at Rome about the unfathomable ways of the Lord. He wrote the following.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33 NASB)

The Message puts it this way.

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. (Romans 11:33 MsgB)

Indeed, we will never be able to figure it out. Therefore, any answer we could give to this question would only be speculation since God has not specifically told us why He did this.

Consequently, our answer to this question can only be partial. God has not told us the specifics as to why He has done what He has done with respect to creating the human race. Yet, we know that God is good and always has our best in mind. This should be a sufficient answer for us.

Summary – Question 7
Why Did God Create Humanity If He Knew There Would Be So Much Pain?

The present universe consists of pain and suffering. Nobody doubts that. In addition, nobody doubts the fact God did indeed know that humanity was eventually going to sin when He created Adam and Eve. Given these facts, why did God create the human race in the first place if He knew they would rebel against Him and cause all this pain and suffering?

The choices God had are limited. He could have chosen not to create seeing that He knew the eventual pain and suffering which would result. Yet He did not exercise this option.

It is also possible that God could have made human beings without any choice whatsoever. If He did this then sin would have never entered the universe. There would be no pain or suffering. Neither would there be any meaning. To have meaning, there must be choice. Choice brings the risk of making the wrong decision.

God decided to exercise this option. He gave the first humans genuine choice. They chose to rebel against Him. This is why we find ourselves in the situation in which we are in. Adam and Eve made the wrong choice.

This tells us “what” the Lord decided to do. As to why He still created humankind with the knowledge that humanity would bring sin into the world we are not told. We are only told that He has done it this way. Since God has not explained His motives it would be fruitless for us to speculate. No one knows the answer because God has not revealed it to us.

However, we do know that the God of the Bible is a good God. He always has the best interest of His people in mind. For whatever reason or reasons that He chose to create the human race we can be assured that they are good reasons. In the end, this is all that we really need to know.