The Root of Problems

Just before His death on the cross, Jesus talked to His disciples about what would happen to them after He returned to heaven. One of the things He said was, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”(John 16:33). Then Jesus prayed for His disciples, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name . . . My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:11, 15).

As long as we remain in the world, we will have problems. Where do these problems come from? Is there anything we can do to prevent them from happening? Why does God allow the Christian to suffer hardships and trials?

In this book we will consider the source of our problems, and why we must all face problems. Understanding why things happen helps us to understand ways of finding solutions of turning our problems into opportunities to grow stronger in our Christian experience. As you read the book, think about problems in your own life and their source. Once you have identified the source of a problem, you are ready to consider possible solutions. Knowing the source may also help you to avoid certain problems. And that is the best solution of all.

Adam’s Sin

Adam and Eve were created as perfect human beings in a perfect world (Genesis 2). They had perfect fellowship with God and they had no problems. But God gave them the power to choose to obey and serve Him. There was an evil influence in the world which was Satan, whom Jesus called “the evil one” (John 17:15). He was in the garden of Eden in the form of a serpent. The Bible does not tell us how he got there, but we read in Genesis 3 how the serpent (Satan) used his evil influence to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God. Their disobedience brought a curse upon the whole earth. The earth and all humanity were damaged by this sin. This was the beginning of pain, suffering, hardships, disasters, and hard work.

A Sin-Damaged World

Genesis chapter 3, verses 16-19, records the curse which came upon the earth as a result of sin. It is as a result of this curse that we grow old and die. Because of sin, the earth is imperfect, and there are disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes and pandemics. Because of sin, we must struggle against wind and storm and wild beasts and insects to provide food for our nourishment. Even though we are not all farmers, our existence depends upon this provision. Because of sin, some children are born with brain damage, or crippled limbs, or disease.

Our Own Sinful nature

You’ve probably heard the story of the little boy who was caught misbehaving. When his mother asked him why he did it, he replied, “The devil made me do it!” It’s easy to blame all our problems on the devil (Satan), but the truth is that many of our problems are a result of our own sinful nature. We are given the power to choose to obey God or not to obey Him. When we sin, it is a matter of personal choice and we are personally responsible for our sin. In Romans 5:12, we read these words: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. These Scriptures make it clear that each of us is born with a capacity to sin, and we are all accountable for our own choices to do good or evil. Many of our problems are a result of sinful acts that we have committed, careless words we have spoken, or sinful attitudes such as willfulness, selfishness, greed, jealousy, or wrong priorities. The Bible records one instance where Jesus healed a man who had been sick for a long time. Later, Jesus found the man in the temple, and gave him this advice: “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Apparently in this instance it was the man’s sin which caused his illness. People who abuse their bodies by using harmful drugs or tobacco, by excessive eating or drinking, by immorality, or by other sinful acts may have severe physical problems as a result. When we sin by disobeying God and His Word, we can bring many problems upon ourselves, such as broken homes, broken relationships, sorrow, suffering, sickness, or even death. Romans 6:23 reminds us that “the wages of sin is death.” This speaks not only of physical death, but also of spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God. The way we respond to problems can sometimes create additional problems. A bad attitude or a complaining spirit are sinful responses to our circumstances. When this happens, our problems can defeat us and cause us to lose fellowship with God. As we will see later in this book, a positive attitude will help us to turn our problems into victories, and the result will be spiritual growth.

It would be a mistake to imply that it is possible in this life to avoid all sin-related problems by living a perfect life free from sin. Your own experience will tell you that, try as you may, you are not perfect, and even though you may be gaining victories over sin, your old sinful nature may sometimes cause you to fail. Thus, from time to time you may have problems resulting from your own failings. But the wonderful truth is that even when we sin God still loves us, and He will help us to find solutions to all of our problems when we confess our sins and call upon Him for help. Later we will look at specific examples of how sin causes problems, and what we can do to avoid or overcome such problems.

A Result of Outside Influences

We have seen that human problems result from sin. Because of sin we live in a damaged world. Sin brought a curse upon the whole world, and Satan’s influence in the world has brought chaos, confusion, trouble, and despair. All men are born with a sinful nature (Romans 3:23). Does this mean, then, that our problems are always caused by our personal sin? Of course not! Many problems which we face are caused by forces completely outside our control. What are some of these forces?

Natural Disasters

When the British Titanic was built in 1912, it was the largest ship in the world. Experts said the ship was unsinkable. But on the night of April 14, 1912, it struck an iceberg and sank during its first voyage from England to America. About 1500 of its 2200 passengers died before they could be rescued. No one could have imagined that an iceberg would tear such a hole in the ship that it would sink within two and one-half hours. Think of all the problems caused by this disaster! No doubt there were many Christians who lost loved ones in this accident. The resulting problems of grief, pain, suffering, and dealing with the aftereffects of this event cannot be attributed to the personal sin of any one person. They were simply the result of a natural disaster. Possibly you have been the victim of a disaster such as a flood, an earthquake, a hurricane, or a famine. Or perhaps you have experienced problems within your family such as sickness, death, mental disorders, financial difficulties, or other situations over which you have no control. Certainly the root cause of these problems is the curse that came upon the earth as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But they were not the result of personal sin. The Bible makes it clear that godly Christians as well as sinful unbelievers may encounter problems simply because we live in a world cursed by sin.

Actions of Other People

In a time of economic depression businesses fail and many people lose their jobs. This might happen to you through no fault of your own. Your employer may decide to transfer you to another location of work, creating problems for your entire family. Someone driving a car may overlook a stop sign and strike your car, causing damage and injury. A neighbor may misunderstand some activity of yours, and accuse you unjustly of wrongdoing. An enemy of your country may declare war and you might be required to defend your country in battle. You may be the victim of a crime. These are all examples of problems, large or small, which come our way as a result of decisions or actions of others which are entirely outside of our control. Because it is the nature of people to interact with one another, our own happiness and welfare sometimes depend upon the choices other people make. Much attention will be given in this book to problem solving as it relates to our relationships with others, and our reactions to problems which we face as a result of choices made by others. 

A Result of Our Own Choices

Mistakes in Judgment

“If only I had driven a little slower, the accident wouldn’t have happened!” “If I had been more careful, I wouldn’t have slipped and fallen!” “If I had known all the facts, I would have made a better decision!”

Have you ever caught yourself making statements like these, after something you did created a problem for you? As we go about our activities we must make many choices. Some of them have good results, and we are pleased. Others may be poor choices, and they cause problems. They are not necessarily sinful choices, but may be caused by carelessness, or ignorance, or mixed-up priorities. Or perhaps they were carefully thought out, we made a decision that we considered the best possible one, and the result was not what we expected. Because we do not have perfect wisdom, we are bound to make mistakes from time to time. Even though there may be no sin involved in this kind of situation, we must deal with the problem that develops from it.

When a child is learning to walk, he stumbles and falls many times in the process. But he learns from experience how to prevent the falls, until he has gained full control of his movements and is able to walk without falling. In the same way, we do learn from our mistakes to pay more attention, to exercise greater care in the choices we make. This is part of our maturing process.