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The
King James Version of this passage may be the most serious
mistranslation in the New Testament, one capable of doing much harm
to Christian faith. Oftentimes differences in translation are of no
great moment, but that is not the case with this passage.
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When
the KJV reads “All things work together for good to them that
love God,” one may conclude that whatever happens to the
believer, however oppressive life may become or however tragic the
circumstance, God will turn it into good. Whether it be cancer, an
epidemic, a tragic accident, or a broken marriage, we
inappropriately apply the false hope that these things are somehow
good
to
the one that loves God, for “All things work together for
good.” This is of course folly, for there is no way to make
good
of
a child coming down with leukemia or a man suffering a heart attack.
Some things in this world are evil in nature and there is nothing
good about them. The truth is that events often work together for
evil, even to the most devoted believers. Life sometimes seems to
conspire against us, with evils multiplying. There is no way to
think of them as good.
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I
once visited a boy still in his teens, paralyzed from the neck down.
He could do nothing for himself and was destined to live out his
life in that condition. Could I tell him that if he loved the Lord
what had happened to him was for his good? Is there anything good
about hundreds of marines being blown to bits by a vicious bomb in
Lebanon? How many of them loved the Lord?
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In
the above translation Moffatt rescues Rom. 8:28 from the injustice
done to it by the KJV. Following the spirit of the Greek original,
Moffatt turns the verse into a delightful, faith-building promise.
We
do
have
God’s help in everything that happens to us, however bad it
is. What Rom. 8:28 promises us is that there is no situation in
life, however desperate, that God will not be at work for our
ultimate good, helping us and loving us.
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If
one sought to follow the original Greek of Rom. 8:28 it would be
something like:
With
those who love God, He (or God) co-operates in all respects for
good.
Most
modern versions correct the KJV in one way or another, such as the
NIV: “We know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him.” More freely it could read:
Even
in all the evil things that happen to us God causes good things to
happen when we trust in him.
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I
might say to the paralyzed lad that if he faces what has happened to
him with Christ-like patience he might lead many others to a closer
walk with God. His accident, which occurred amidst teenage
foolishness, might make a difference in his own salvation, if he
responds to the tragedy in the right way. How might his life had
gone without the accident?
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Such
things we might think or say, but we must rise above the myth of the
modern mind that the universe behaves benignly for us earthlings who
dare to cope with it, and that for “good folk” it will
all work out OK. It often does
not
work
out OK, even for the best of folk, and the universe is always
playing dirty tricks on us. For many, many people in this world (the
majority?) things will not work out for their wellbeing. They are
doomed to ignorance, poverty, starvation, deprivation, homelessness,
crime, violence, war, prostitution, meaninglessness, desperation,
oppression. It is that kind of world. And many of those who suffer
the most are believers.
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As
I write these words there comes to mind a teenage girl that I met in
a tribal village in northern Thailand, where a few illiterate
Christians live among Animists. The girl, caught up in deep poverty,
is doomed (or so it seems) to live on with almost no opportunity to
improve her station in life. A lovely girl, she must spend her days
in the rice field and her nights in a bamboo hut with its dirt
floor, helping her parents eke out a living. How can I tell her, how
can I believe, that a better life awaits her after awhile— or
for scores of children in her village who get not even one day of
schooling a year? Christian missions try to reach out to these
people, but it is so little and seems so futile. How do we relate
the promises of God to these blighted people who profess to believe?
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I
heard a Methodist minister tell how he ministered to people in
tragic circumstances. He told of this man whose little boy was
suddenly snatched from him in an accident. The minister went to his
home at the appropriate time and simply sat with him. He quietly
said to the grieved father, “Henry, I don’t see how you
can stand it. I don’t think I could take it.” That is
all he tried to say. He did not try to minimize the loss by assuring
him that somehow it was good. When the father saw that the minister
understood the dimension of his grief, he could open up and talk
(and weep) about it.
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We
can do no better than our Lord did, who was realistic about this
world we live in.
In
the world you will have troubles,
Jesus
assured his disciples. But still he could say,
Be
of good cheer, for I have overcome the world
(Jn.
16:33). We too can overcome it through his graciousness, however
tragic life may be. The promise goes well with the great truth of
Rom. 8:28. —the
Editor, from Chiang mai, Thailand.