Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

When You Just Want to Scream

By Dr. Richard P. Bucher

and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard). . .. 2 Peter 2:7-8.

The above text tells us that righteous Lot was "distressed" and "tormented" by the filthy lives and lawless deeds of his fellow citizens: the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. I can relate and perhaps you can too. There are times that I am so fed up with the evil of this world that I want to scream with frustration. It isn't easy for Christians to see, hear, and experience the daily onslaught of wickedness that is life on planet earth in the 1990's. Rage and violence escalates. Outrageously inhuman injustice (such as abortion) is defended as constitutional right. Evils which bind the human soul (such as gambling and pornography) are not only allowed, but promoted. Love for neighbor runs cold as we retreat to utter selfism and the worship of pleasure and fun. Worse, though, for me, is the wickedness within the Church. To make a name for themselves, theologians who should be defending the truth of our faith, violently undermine it. Pastors are more concerned about what works than about what is right. Christians care more about the Law than the Gospel. I'm sure you have your own list of "lawless deeds" that make you want to scream.

Is such frustration with and complaining about the evil around us sinful? No, when kept within bounds. It is normal for believers to be overwhelmed with frustration at times. Above we read the example of Lot. In addition the Psalms are full of such complaints. Even our Lord Himself exhibited this kind of frustration more than once. The Gospels show Him angered and greatly distressed at the Jews' hardness of heart (Mark 3:5); they show Him frustrated by the unbelief of the world and His disciples -- "O unbelieving generation! . . . How long shall I put up with you!?" (Mark 9:19); they show Him exasperated by His disciples slowness in "getting it" (Matthew 16:5-12); they show Him deeply "sighing" as He is confronted with the fallenness of His creation (Mark 7:34). The example of Jesus should remind us that if He was frustrated at times, we will be too, and that such frustration and complaining is not necessarily sinful.

Yet we should also be very careful that such frustration not consume us. The Scriptural warning, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21) was placed in the sacred text for good reason. Yes, the world and even the outward Church is evil, as they always have been. And yes, this is very frustrating. Yet, finally the Christian realizes that our Lord Jesus Christ died for us, rose again, ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God, all authority having been given to Him. Our exalted Savior reigns as King and controls all! And in the end, when our Lord returns, there will be justice, there will be truth, there will be love. A far greater tragedy than the evil of the world is a Christian transformed into a cynical, negative, hateful beast by the evil of the world -- this is being overcome by evil. So some frustration with evil is normal. But don't let it overcome you. Fight the evil as you can. But then remember the Gospel, remember who reigns, pray for the agents and victims of the evil, get over it, and rejoice!

February 1999