The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

Analysis & Response 89 being artistic with chocolate sauce. In the same way God uses pain as a punishment to reinforce right from wrong. If the Lord wrote in the Bible that adultery was bad, but didn’t punish anyone who slept around, no one would fallow his commandments, because there would be no immediate consequences. But when God adds pain, like a man losing the respect of his wife after being caught cheating, we listen to Him more than if there was no punishment at all. I’m not saying that people are always punished for adultery, like with the woman caught in adultery in John 8 (King James Version), but enough people are punished to scare us away from this sin. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 commands “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (KJV). And because punishment keeps us away from sin and evil, I would count it as a blessing. Another reason pain is a blessing is that it not only corrects us but can be used to guide us. I know a student that came to college set on being an engineer. He had always gotten good grades in high school, and was ready to do the same in the next step of his education. But things didn’t go as planned. He started having trouble in many of his science classes, and didn’t feel drawn to anything he was leaning about. He started praying and asking God what he was supposed to do. The Lord eventually began calling him to ministry, and that’s his major today. The emotional pain he went through, like disappointing grades and the feeling of losing his love for what he had wanted to do since he was a kid, eventually showed him what God wanted in his life. Sometimes people must endure a little pain before they can see the Lord’s will. Even pain that doesn’t warn, guide, or punish is both a necessity and a blessing. Let’s focus first on why this “random pain” is a necessity. It is necessary because we rebelled against God. When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, God promised that if they rebelled against him there would be consequences, like pain and death. We defied Him anyway and our world fell apart. This is why things like Central Pain Syndrome exist. This syndrome is caused by damage to the central nervous system, usually by stroke. It tops the charts for the worst physical pain humans can endure and it is described as feeling like the body is on fire all day long, and walking in the wind is like walking through razor blades. It is the feeling of a dentist jabbing a tooth nerve, except that pain is everywhere in the body. Many people say that it doesn’t seem right