Your immediate response is probably: how on earth can suffering possibly ever be a gift??!
I believe the answer is that suffering can be used as a gift….
And that’s good news as everybody suffers in one way or another.
And there’s lots of ways to suffer: emotionally, mentally, physically, financially, socially, racially…..
And we all have the opportunity to either use our suffering to the benefit of both ourselves and others – or to simply surrender to it and endure its effects without any gain.
What about you?
Which do you choose?
Does your suffering sustain you or disadvantage you?
Is it a purely current situation you find yourself in?
Or is it a trauma from childhood that you still retain?
Does it protect you – or simply restrict you?
And can you simply observe it, acknowledge it, and grow as a consequence of it?
Mahatma Gandhi was 23 when he went to South Africa as a young solicitor. He immediately faced discrimination because of his skin colour and heritage, He was not allowed to sit on the seats on public transport and beaten when he refused to sit on the floor.
He was kicked into a gutter for daring to walk near the house of a European. He was not allowed to walk on public footpaths.
He suffered immense humiliation (as did all Indians under British rule) but instead of it breaking him it made him stronger.
He used that strength to peacefully evict Britain entirely from India.
Nelson Mandela’s family were native royalty but Rolihlahla (his real name) grew up with his country taken over by Europeans.
Under apartheid “blacks” had fewer rights in their own country than even imported Indians. They were banned from voting (Mandela first voted when he was 76 years old). Over 300 laws limited native African rights……from visiting certain beaches, to going to “white only” cafes or toilets, working in certain jobs, mixing with other races, attending certain schools, standing in certain places, promoting equality or justice – the list was endless.
Mandela rose up against this injustice and was jailed with hard labour for life.
And yet, he turned his anger at the suffering of his people into a vision of African independence and after 27 years incarceration he was released by the white government for the purpose of returning his country to native democratic freedom.
He used his suffering to release all his people from their chains.
Bishop John Shelby Spong was a good friend of mine.
He was Bishop of Newark, New York, for 21 years and a senior Bishop in the American Episcopalian church (Anglican).
He was responsible for introducing recognized homosexuals as priests into the church: they simply had to be faithful to their partner (as is required of heterosexual priests).
He introduced women into the priesthood and ordained them as bishops, too.
And he closed many racially segregated churches to force their congregations to mix together as one people.
His own church hierarchy was outraged but unable to stop him.
We spent a week together during one of his speaking tours of Australia (Yes, Australian bishops banned their counterpart from even entering into most Anglican churches!)
I told him how I myself had left the Anglican church because its rules rigidly discriminated both against divorced women and women wishing to join as clergy. It also criticized the beliefs of people of other faiths (even alternate Christian denominations) and protected priests known to have committed serious crimes.
Bishop Spong simply smiled at me and whispered gently:
“That’s the difference between us, Les. We both suffered within the confines of the church for its wrongdoings. You chose to leave the battlefield and start over on your own. But it wasn’t any easier for you, was it? I chose to stay and change the system”. (Ouch!)
To suffer is to endure pain of one kind or another.
In itself it achieves nothing of value or purpose.
But find its remedy and you have found its treasure.
That is the gift which suffering offers you!
In what way are you suffering today?
What is the treasure you’ll find when you access its remedy?
Peace be within you.
Les