Why Suffer?

Recently, a friend said to me something like, "I feel like every time I do the right thing, being honest, following orders, being nice and respectful, it backfires on me."  Although I responded in what I think was an appropriate way, I decided to write a more detailed response. There are often different ways in which rewards manifest themselves. We like to be rewarded for our actions immediately, probably because as children we are instantly compensated for our actions, whether with words or treats or some other special prize. But when we get older, this happens less and less, and it is easy to get discouraged when we do what is right time and again, but see no fruit from our behavior. Sometimes we even get criticized or condemned for our good actions, and that is usually the hardest to take. We start to question whether doing the right thing is even worth it. In that moment, the answer can be found in Scripture, specifically in 1 Peter 4:12-19:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name...

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Our response to suffering for doing the right thing should be rejoicing and thanking God for his working in our lives, which is so counterintuitive to the world's way of thinking. When we respond properly, we will also receive rewards in this life and the next, and though these are delayed, we can still wait in the hope of receiving them. What are these rewards?  In this life, it is a reformation of our character, and in the next life it is a sharing in Christ's glory, which is worth any mistreatment in this life.  James 1:2-4, 12 explain better than I can:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing....Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Grammar!

I've had this idea for a blog post germinating in my mind for a couple weeks, but I haven't gotten around to writing it down til now.  For quite a while, whenever I saw something in the Bible along the lines of " Let __ be done in you" or "May you be __"  I just automatically changed it in my mind to "do __" or "be __" and thinking that I could do it in my own power and strength.  But lately God has been working in my heart to show me that I've been wrong in my interpretation of the Bible. Not only does it contradict the principle of living and working in God's strength, it also goes against the fundamental rules of grammar.  Please bear with me as I act like the grammar nerd that I am for just a few minutes.  The scripture passage where God so clearly showed this error to me, along with the help of a few well-timed words by my pastor, is in Ephesians 4, where Paul is exhorting the Ephesians to live in a manner that benefits the body of Christ.  But it came specifically in verse 31, where it says, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."  When I heard that, I automatically changed that in my mind to the imperative: "Put off bitterness, etc." While I was still doing that in my mind, my pastor said something along the lines of: " Notice it's a passive voice verb."  And suddenly it clicked for me.  When it's a passive voice verb, then something other than the subject is doing the action.  And that was so comforting and encouraging for me.  Why, you might ask? because instead of an imperative for me to do the action of putting off the sin by myself, it is an exhortation to let someone else, namely Christ, do the action in us.  It is so much easier to let Christ do the work in us than to try to do it all by ourselves, fail miserably time and again, and be discouraged and maybe even give up trying to combat sin when we can't do it ourselves.  Instead, we can let Christ come into our lives and root out all the bitterness, anger, malice, etc.  We can do as the apostle Paul, "For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works in me." Col. 1:29