Acquainted with Grief
Daniel Boerman on the Christian’s Final Word About Suffering
Suffering is universal. Some of us suffer from frequent illness or chronic pain. Others deal with the trauma of job failure, divorce, or mental illness. As we grow older, there come the inevitable sorrows of losing parents and spouses. My mother died of a heart attack at the age of 58 and my sister of cancer at 59. As I write this article, I am experiencing chronic pain that has been present for over two years. No one can escape the reality of suffering.
Since suffering is so common to our human experience, it is no surprise that great thinkers from different philosophical and religious perspectives have often talked about it and how best to explain and respond to it. Although our Christian understanding of suffering is unique, it does share some common themes with the thinking of other traditions. A comparison of other ideas with Christian thinking about suffering may help us better understand how to cope with the suffering we live with day-to-day. To this end, we’ll briefly consider a Stoic, and then a Buddhist writer.
The Stoic
Seneca lived in the first century a.d. A native of Spain, he became a wealthy lawyer in Rome, rising to positions of power under three successive Roman emperors. But we remember Seneca for his writings explaining and defending his Stoic philosophy of life. In one of these essays, “On Providence,” he talks about how the Stoic should deal with suffering.
According to Seneca, the order and complexity of the natural world show that there must be a source of providential guidance that directs everything according to a plan. Indeed, the course of life and history is fixed by an irrevocable law. Our part is simply to submit to the things we cannot change.
We should not fear adversity, says Seneca, for it provides an opportunity to exercise our capabilities, like an athlete training against an adversary to become stronger. The more difficulties a man endures, the stronger he becomes. “Prosperity unbruised cannot endure a single blow, but a man who has been at constant feud with misfortunes acquires a skin calloused by suffering; he yields to no evil, and even if he stumbles, carries the fight on upon his knee.”
We cannot expect to become strong, Seneca insists, if we never struggle with suffering. To live a life of prosperity and ease is to miss the opportunity for growth. “No tree stands firm and sturdy if it is not buffeted by constant wind; the very stresses cause it to stiffen and fix its roots firmly.” Thus, the truly courageous man welcomes suffering as an opportunity for growth. “Great men, I insist, sometimes rejoice in adversity precisely as brave soldiers rejoice in war.”
The true Stoic perceives that misfortune cannot harm his soul. He despises the pain and suffering of the body because he thinks that the body is of little value. Virtue and strength of spirit are the only things that really matter, and no suffering of the body can take those away.
The Buddhist
Daniel Boerman is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary whose articles and reviews have appeared in numerous Christian periodicals. He is currently working at home as a freelance writer. A lifelong member of the Christian Reformed Church, he and his wife have two adult children and two grandsons.
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