Moral Principle Growth Through Suffering
Definition
While suffering is a response to evil, it is not itself an evil. Especially when redeemed by grace, suffering can contribute to our growth as human beings.
Explanation
Common human experience (natural law) tells us that the experience of suffering can help us develop a good character. When we suffer, we begin to realize that we are not the center of the universe. We lose our sense of entitlement. We gain compassion for those who suffer as we do and grow in solidarity with every human being. We grow stronger in fortitude and its related virtues of perseverance, patience. We can accept suffering for the sake of others and thus grow in love.
The fact that suffering was not part of God’s original plan for human nature does not keep us from benefiting from its presence. Without suffering God would have had other ways for us to grow as human beings. However, in a fallen world suffering is one path to growth.
Jesus Christ gave suffering supernatural value when he suffered and died for our sins. As He has always done, God invites us to share in His divine life, including the redemptive suffering of Christ. We can unite our suffering to the suffering of Christ to cooperate in the salvation of our own souls and in the salvation of the souls of others.
Application
- Hedonism, the philosophy that seeks pleasure as the ultimate good, deems all suffering useless. It ignores the value of suffering indicated by both natural law and divine law.
- Euthanasia assumes that death is better than living with suffering, again ignoring the value that suffering can have for human life even at the end of life.
- Palliative care is a morally good act of medicine, since suffering need not be sought and indeed should be relieved whenever doing so does not disregard a person’s life. However, the limits of palliative care must be carefully defined and respected (we cannot take any measure to relieve suffering, especially not euthanasia).
- Those people who advocate abortion by saying that it is better for a baby to die than to live a life of suffering and poverty make a gravely erroneous value judgment of life and suffering.