Why

We often wonder why things happen, don't we? Or we wonder why things are the way they are (or appear to be). People go through life with a very strong inability to trust when they do not understand (which is not really much trust at all). With each other we demand why's all the time- like some sort of pathological disease. People always seem to want to know why. Why did you not call me yesterday? Why did you say that in front of those people? Why didn't you do that thing I asked you to? It goes on and on and on. You really have to wonder, though- when we ask the question, do we want the answer? If we get the answer, are we expecting it to change something inside of us (how we feel, perhaps)?

People do the same thing with God. Why did you let my beloved die? Why did you not stop that earthquake? Why did you make me handicapped? Why don't you visibly show yourself to everyone? And if a person does not get the answer they are looking for- they get furious. At that point, reason does not begin- it exits the building entirely. If I don't understand why- you must not exist. If I do not understand why- you must not care. If I don't understand why- you must be a monster! This is how it goes (at least in our culture) over and over and over again.

But I have to wonder if we really want to know why God does what He does. I have to wonder if we knew if it would really change how we feel. I have to wonder if knowing why is really what people are after. I doubt it is what they need in many situations- but I begin to wonder if they really even want it...

All of us have questions we do not know the answers to. I think that maybe we should think a little bit about why we are asking the questions we do in the first place.