Everything Happens For a Reason?
Posted by: homelessgirl on: August 10, 2009
One of the reasons why I don’t talk a lot about my problems to other people is that most of the time they don’t know what to say or end up doing more damage. When I have spoken to christians or so called “friends” about it they usually ask me what sin I committed and that I needed to repent asap. I hate when people say that because it shows they have no basic knowledge of God. Even the most evil people have never been punished to what my life looks like. And punished for what? The only sin I can be accused of is ignoring God for most of my life and that isn’t even a sin. Sometimes Christians make sick.
By Chewy Chua ( and yes you're welcome)
But by far the worst comment people make (either to me or in other conversations) is this: Everything happens for a reason. A few years ago I used to think this was the way to be happy but I realised that people who say that only use that as an excuse for not knowing the answer to life’s difficult questions. But I live in the peace knowing I don’t have to know the answer to everything and I have the right not to have an opinion.
So tell me how everything happens for a reason can be helpful. A child who has leukemia? The holocaust? My predicament? What benefit have these things had.
A lot of you might say me being homeless makes me a champion for homeless causes but that is just a product of me seeing what happens to homeless people. I wasn’t made homeless so that I could save them. The truth is I don’t know why I was made homeless and I don’t want to know because it doesn’t change anything. It all happened, I slept on the street blah blah blah. All I know is God is good and that is enough for me.
I think that when you say everything happens for a reason it blinds you from facing the facts and creates a sense of fake optimism that obscures your view of reality. (Understand that I’m not against optimism) It is a coping mechanism for life’s difficult questions and until we stop saying that, people will have a warped view about this world we live in and about God, that He enjoys making people suffer and he causes pain in order to show his love. In fact he uses the terrible situations to His glory but He never causes them.
So why is there pain and suffering?
We live in a world of conflict between good and evil, right and wrong and stuff happens in between.
Like an explosion and debris falling at random locations.
So no in my opinion everything does not happen for a reason but stuff does happen and I think you can live a more hopeful life that way.
P.s If you want to be considered cool and realise that you’re life is incomplete then why not “follow “me and my nuggets of wisdom in 160 characters or less on twitter. I seem to be getting the hang of this at best mediocre website: http://bit.ly/1KkuqK
Much love Homeless Girl
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Now playing: Owl City – Fireflies
via FoxyTunes
(Because I need to show you how edgy I am when it comes to my musical taste, what you don’t know is I was actually listening to a lecture from the itunes U about greek culture but I guess you’ll never know that unless if you’re bloody clever enough to read this far down in the post. Oh you have? well then give yourself a big fat pat on the back and then proceed to take you’re fingers and write me a really nice comment explaining how much you love me, this blog, and this post and if you’ve managed to reach here without laughing well then you’re a stupid zombie/robot and poo face so there )
16 Responses to "Everything Happens For a Reason?"
August 11, 2009 at 12:50 am
Hey thanks a lot kathy its good to know other christians get this.
Whats happening that you’re almost finding yourself homeless I’d really love to know and I might be able to give you some advice or if you need someone to talk to.
August 11, 2009 at 5:17 am
Thank you HG,
I am living with my younger sister and her family. They keep a roof over my head. A former job I had the warehouse went out of business. I got another job for only $150 a week before taxes. It wasn’t very much but better than nothing which is what I made for 8 months. Now that job has ended cuz the woman I worked for retired after 30 years. Which is wonderful for her. I lost my job for a good reason. She had a hard job and hard life so i’m VERY happy for her.
So now I’m out of work again. I won’t be homeless cuz of my sister. It just seems I’m often one step away. But so far so good.
Thank you for your generous offer.
Wish you the BEST,
kathy
August 11, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I have to admit at first I didn’t get what you were saying, but as I read it the first thing I thought about was Job’s story. Job didn’t do anything to cause his suffering. God allowed Job to go through for his glory.
As far as being advocate for the homeless, there are lot of people who were homeless who are not interested in being an advocate, everyone has different gifts and talents. It is clear that God has given you the gift of writing and encouraging.
August 15, 2009 at 1:37 pm
YOU SAID: “So why is there pain and suffering?”
“without suffering there will be no COMPASSION”
-Jamie (Mandy Moore) by the movie A WALK TO REMEMBER.
—-I am a Christian but I am not corny.
you have such witty thoughts….i completely agree with SYINLY -”It is clear that God has given you the gift of writing and encouraging”
xoxo,
Just Cool n Weird STuff
August 18, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I used to have a poem about Life’s Tapestry. The gist was that God sees the upper and we see the underside. Imagine, something embrodried (spell check) from the upper side and the mess of tangled threads underneath.
Usta like the analogy. If there is that Christian concept God, then I do not like Him very much. The Hebrew/Christian Bible says stuff like “See the lilies of the field…” and if “you” being human knows how to give good gifts to your “son” how much, um, easier for God to gift his children on earth.
Can not say I mind too much the “gift” of homelessness. It is the “gifts” of being constantly abused, disrespected by others, that gets to me.
My mother used to say “You get your reward in heaven” so often wonder what is the point of a life here filled with bad stuff caused by others. (Like the Iraq war for instance.)
Your post did get me to thinking of that old poem, so a good reminder to myself.
August 31, 2009 at 9:27 pm
For goodness sake! I didn’t start laughing until I got to the words “poo face, so there!”
Very funny…
I’ve always held that if we could see the ‘big picture’, we would know why things, both good as well as bad, happen.
I’ve been told that we are God’s children and he loves us, but then I wonder why people in so many parts of the world die from starvation and disease or are injured and maimed simply because they are living in the way of a war.
If God really loved us, why would he want us to suffer so?
I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. I lost my infant son in 1979 when he was only nine days old.
Again, if we could see the ‘big picture’ perhaps we’d be better able to understand.
All I can say is this: we need each other, everything we do effects someone else, and life is what you make of it.
We can’t always wait and hope for good things to happen.
Sometimes we have to make them happen. (If it’s to be, it is up to me.)
September 1, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Allen. completely agree with your point there.
But what I live by is this. that I don’t have to know the answer to difficult questions.
There is peace in not knowing, but I do know the ONE who knows everything and that’s good enough for me.
September 4, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I think “everything happens for a reason” is the most ridiculous statement. When I was a teenager I heard a story of an 8 month old baby being raped and then and there I decided there was no god. There is no reason for something like that to happen, and if there is a god with all this power and he doesn’t stop things like that, I think he is terrible.
September 5, 2009 at 11:01 am
I’m glad you commented to me but I don’t think you understood what I was trying to say, i wasn’t saying that because there is evil in the world that means there is no God, to the contrary in fact.
You are very angered and rightly so about the rape of a child what about the rape and murder of an adult, what about lying? does every liar deserve to be punished, what about hatred?, adultery?, greed?
No doubt your call for immediate retribution stops at rape and murder because you don’t see many of the above as being evil. God does. His standard of righteousness in infinitely higher than ours. Evil doesn’t stop where you and I think it should, so if you are wanting Him to throw around bolts of lightning at that which He considers evil, you are talking about the entire human race, including yourself.
And we live in a world of conflict, where human beings have free will to do what they can and God does not encroach on someone’s free will unless he is asked in prayer.
There is peace in not knowing the answer to life’s most difficult question and we are not supposed to but only know that he is good.
It’s sad you decided then an there to become an atheist because of one incident. You were probably fed a misconception about God and life by the church.
I hope I have answered your question somewhat
September 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm
HG,
I thot you answered Jen eloquently. I would’nt have done so well. You do have a gift for writing.
Kathy
September 6, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Thanks Kathy, I did start this blog to be a better writer so I’m glad I’m doing something right.
But I was able to answer her properly because I’ve spent a lot of time studying about arguing with logic and emotion. And reading and trying to explain why is it the way I feel the way I do about Jesus. So that I will: “Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.” 1 Peter 3:15
Because I always got into arguments with people and could only give an answer based on emotion and always saying you have to have faith and I knew it wasn’t enough. That atheists and everybody deserves to have a good answer. But its not my job to argue someone into making a decision or convincing them through a really good argument, I just state what I know and leave God to do the rest.
You can find loads of tips here http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers
And type in Ray Comfort blog and read about that.
Happy searching
September 6, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Thanks for the TIPS. I wish I had a computer when I was in school. It would have helped me study better.
September 11, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Yeah, everything happens for a reason is bologna. Terrible things happen every day including the rape and murder of innocent people, but indifference is just as sad. I see homeless people every day and my husband thinks I am going to break the bank by handing out money to them, but I just can’t bring myself to turn away knowing they are in need regardless of their own actions that may or may not have brought them to that place, they are human beings. If I were in need I wouldn’t want someone to turn away from me. Too many times people turn away. There is evil in the world, lots of evil, but hope must remain for some reason which I can’t explain other than to say without hope why go on? I could never give up I think, then I think of putting myself in your situation HG and I hope I could be as strong and humble as you are. You ROCK!!
September 12, 2009 at 7:49 pm
redhd_stepchild
I’m glad about what you do for the homeless because I used to struggle with that and I realised that when I give them the money its not up to me to decide what they do with it, its a gift. Just as long as they know there is some good in this life.
And thanks for the compliments.
October 8, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I agree with you — “everything happens for a reason” is a copout. It’s a way for people to not have to take responsibility for the inequities and unfairness of capitalism. For the religous, it is a way for them to convince themselves they are acting in good faith.
Good faith is when people realize we are all in this world together.
Most Christians just don’t want to treat their neighbor as themself. Plain and simple. But on to church they go, every Sunday. And the bit about being forgiven for our sins — LOL. That is just another copout, so that the person can come home from church, knowing they have not treated their neighbor as themself, and convincing themselves they have still earned their ticket to heaven just by going to church. And not by any loving works. Because they are forgiven. What a joke.
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August 10, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Hi HG,
I’m a Christian and I can tell you that, “Everything happens for a reason,” is not Biblical.
You explained yourself the details that led to your situation. We are all human and have all messed up. And will mess up. In your situation you have the disadvantage of your becoming homeless.
Those Christians that say it’s because of sin in your life. They need to look at themselves. “All have sinned.” the Bible says. And they should remember the verse, “He who is without sin should cast the first stone.” They are throwing stones at you.
I apologize on their behalf. They may need your prayers that they will understand and become more like Jesus who is tenderhearted, compassionate. And He forgives those who confess their sins to Him and is merciful and longsuffering.
I continue to pray for you. I am only a step away from being homeless myself. But for the Grace of God I would be in your place.
I pray that God will strengthen you & your Mother, guide and provide. I Pray also that God will help your Father and family.
God BLESS you,
Grace & Peace
kathy