Religion is not a crutch to me

The day before the shootings in Chardon, the topic of discussion in church was about Job. Now if that's just a coincidence, I beg to differ.

I don't understand how nihilism benefits anyone. Are tragic events really the random product of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Accidents that ultimately have no meaning, so we suck up the pain and get on with life?

I do not understand how any of this is encouraging to people struggling with grief. It's interesting for me to analyze the many ways that people make or break with religion. It seems there are two kinds of religious people: those who quit when life throws them too many curveballs, or those who lean into it like they never have before when it's all they have left.

This brings up the old cliche about the way many people perceive faith: it's a comfort mechanism, something to provide solace in the face of tragedy. It's "nice" to imagine our loved ones smiling and happy in heaven as we are grieving for them here on earth. It's healing for us to imagine they aren't suffering anymore.

But this brings up a crucial misconception of what faith is (or, in this case, what it isn't). I think the real tragedy here is that so many Christians and non-Christians alike have this idea that a life lived for God is a life of comfort. Well, we need not look any further than all the countless saints who suffered throughout history, not to mention Jesus Christ himself, to know that this is not true.

Faith is risky. Faith makes us vulnerable. It does not guarantee safety. It doesn't shield us from heartbreak.

So why is it worth it?

Because we can know that suffering, in any form, is never wasted. It is not random or meaningless. Maybe this knowledge is still perceived as comfort food for some, but using religion as a "crutch" just to get through a bad time does not produce refinement of character or a stable foundation of strength...we have to understand that no one is immune to suffering regardless of how "good" they are. The friends of Job from the Old Testament were convinced that he must have done something awful to deserve all the boils and the loss of his family...but no one has higher standing than another because of how "moral" they are.

All of us are vulnerable, but none of us is excluded from belonging to something bigger than ourselves. It's simply unrealistic to expect that that "master plan" can take place without some degree of pain.