Evil and Suffering: Human Responsibility and the Character of God

Few questions trouble people more deeply than this one: If God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering? For many, the pain of the world has been used as evidence that God is either cruel, distant, or secretly responsible for harm.

Scripture offers a different picture. It consistently separates God’s character from the evil that unfolds in a broken world, while taking human responsibility seriously and without excuses.

God is not portrayed as the author of evil

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

1 John 1:5

The Bible does not describe God as morally mixed or secretly willing harm. Evil is never said to flow from God’s heart or nature. Scripture draws a clear line: God is good, and evil is a corruption of what He created good.

When suffering is blamed directly on God’s intent, His goodness becomes unintelligible and trust becomes difficult. Scripture refuses that framing.

Evil enters through human choice

From the beginning, Scripture presents a world shaped by real choices. Love, obedience, violence, and injustice are all treated as meaningful actions with real consequences.

“God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Ecclesiastes 7:29

Much of the suffering we experience is the result of human sin: greed, abuse, hatred, neglect, and systems built on injustice. Scripture does not minimize this reality or redirect blame onto God.

Real freedom means real harm is possible. Without the ability to choose wrongly, love itself would be meaningless.

Suffering is not God’s preferred teaching tool

“For he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.”

Lamentations 3:33

While Scripture acknowledges that hardship can produce growth, it does not portray God as needing suffering in order to accomplish His purposes. Pain is not God’s primary language. Mercy, instruction, patience, and correction come first.

Teaching that God causes suffering “for your good” often produces fear, not faith. Scripture consistently moves people toward trust, not terror.

God’s response to evil is justice, not indifference

God does not ignore evil. Scripture speaks repeatedly of His commitment to judge wrongdoing, defend the vulnerable, and bring truth into the light.

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

Genesis 18:25

Judgment in Scripture is not reckless punishment. It is measured, informed, and righteous. God sees what humans hide and remembers what victims cannot forget.

God draws near to the suffering

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 34:18

Scripture presents God as attentive to pain, not distant from it. He hears cries, remembers injustice, and responds with compassion. His nearness does not deny suffering—but it prevents suffering from having the final word.

The Son of God enters human suffering

The clearest expression of God’s response to evil is not found in explanation, but in action. The Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into a world marked by violence, betrayal, and death.

“God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

John 3:17

Jesus did not escape suffering; He endured it faithfully. In doing so, He revealed God’s heart toward the broken: not accusation, but rescue. Not abandonment, but redemption.

Suffering is temporary, not ultimate

“The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

Psalm 145:9

Scripture looks forward to a future where evil is judged, suffering is ended, and what was broken is restored. The present age is not the final verdict on God’s goodness.

Evil explains the world’s pain. God explains the world’s hope.

A steady conclusion

Evil and suffering do not reveal a cruel God. They reveal a broken world in need of redemption. Scripture calls us to reject despair, resist injustice, and trust the God who remains good even when the world is not.