Drawing the Line: A Fictional Reflection on the Problem of Suffering

If God is loving and powerful, why doesn’t he intervene more?

One answer to that question comes from a tense conversation in a Brandon Sanderson book, Bands of Mourning.

Waxilliam Ladrian is a lawman whose relationship with God is strained. It bothers Wax that God helps him solve crimes after they’re committed, but doesn’t intervene to prevent them.

After a main character dies, Wax reaches out to God, breaking a long silence between them.

“They say,” Wax said softly, “that You come to all people when they die.”

“It is a duty I consider to be among my most sacred,” God said. “Even with other pressing matters, I find time to take this walk.” He had a quiet voice, familiar to Wax. Like that of a forgotten friend.

“If You can take time to walk with us,” Wax said, bitter, “why not come a little earlier? Why not stop the walk before it must begin?”

“Should I prevent all hardship, Waxillium?”

“I know where this is going,” Wax said. “I know what You’re going to say. You value choice. Everyone theorizes about it. But You can help. You’ve done it before, in placing me where I needed to go. You intervene. So why not intervene more? Prevent children from being killed. Make certain that constables arrive in time to stop deaths. You don’t have to take away choice, but You could do more. I know You could.”
God nodded.

“What is it to be God, Waxillium?” God asked.

“I don’t think that’s a question I can answer.”

“It is not one I ever thought I’d have to answer either,” God said. “But obviously, it has been forced upon me. You would have me intervene and stop the murders of innocents. I could do this. I have considered it. If I were to stop every one, what then? Do I stop maimings as well?”

“Of course,” Wax said.

“And where do I hold back, Waxillium? Do I prevent all wounds, or do I prevent only those caused by evil people? Do I stop a man from falling asleep so that he will not tip a candle and burn down his house? Do I stop all harm that could ever befall a person?”

“Maybe.”

“And once nobody is ever hurt,” God said, “will people be satisfied? Will they not pray to me and ask for more? Will some people still curse and spit at the sound of my name because they are poor, while another is rich? Should I mitigate this, make everyone the same, Waxillium?”

“I won’t be caught in this trap,” Wax said. “You’re the God, not me. You can find a line where You prevent the worst. You can find a line where You’re stopping the worst that is reasonable, while still letting us live our lives.”

“Perhaps,” God said softly, “I have already done just as you suggest. You do not see it, because the worst never reaches you.”