11. Why So Much Suffering?
1 JEHOVAH DOES NOT CAUSE ANY SUFFERING
“It is unthinkable for the true God to act wickedly, for the Almighty to do wrong!”—Job 34:10
Why is there so much suffering in the world?
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The ruler of the world is Satan the Devil.
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Humans cause others to suffer.
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Sometimes people suffer because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Jehovah has deep love for people. He hates to see them suffer.
2 SATAN CHALLENGED JEHOVAH’S RIGHT TO RULE
“God knows that . . . your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.”—Genesis 3:5
Why did Jehovah not ignore Satan’s challenge?
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Satan accused God of being a bad ruler. Satan wanted humans to believe that they had the right to decide for themselves what was right or wrong.
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Satan challenged Jehovah in front of millions of angels.
3 SATAN’S CHALLENGE HAS FAILED
“It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23
Why have humans suffered for so long?
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Humans have had many kinds of governments, but they cannot rule the earth successfully without God.
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Jehovah is patient and has allowed time for us to come to know him and to choose him as our Ruler.
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Jehovah will use Jesus to undo all the damage that Satan has done.
4 USE YOUR FREE WILL TO SERVE JEHOVAH
“Be wise, my son, . . . so that I can make a reply to him who taunts me.”—Proverbs 27:11
Why doesn’t Jehovah force us to serve him?
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Animals act primarily because of instinct, but Jehovah has given us free will. We can decide whether we will serve him or not.
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Jehovah wants us to serve him because we love him.