why do people suffer?

Job says:

"Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding."

-Job 28:28

Elihu says:

"Your wickedness affects others like you, and your righteousness, other human beings."

-Job 35:8

God's response to Job is obscure. He speaks of the animals of the earth and their ways, which he says Job has no control over or even knowledge of; they are God's creatures. Then he mentions "the Leviathan" (41:1), which I take to be an example of something God protects humans from. The best answer I can fathom as to "why do people suffer?" is that people are selfish and don't deserve not to suffer. Even a righteous man like Job had a comfortable, good life for himself and he allowed his sons and daughters to partake in possibly sinful activity. But I think his worst sin was after God took everything away from him; he felt sorry for himself. He did not ask what more he could do for God at that point, but why God would do such things to him. Ultimately, he was more concerned about his well-being than his righteousness. He even said several times that he did not sin in his words—this suggests that the sin was within his mind, even if his words or actions never showed it.

This is a fascinating question, but I have to point out the reason this all started. In chapter 1 of Job, it says "One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also was among them" (1:6). The Lord asks Satan where he came from; Satan replies "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it" (1:7; I love this quote). Then, nonchalantly, God asks "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil" (1:8).

This is apparently the origin of Job's plight, and nowhere does it suggest that God considered Job to be a sinner. Rather, he is like God's champion to be tested by Satan and prove Satan wrong. I wonder why God brought Job up in the first place; Satan didn't ask for somebody to torture. The Harper-Collins Study Bible says this verse suggests an ongoing rivalry between God and Satan. God is proud of Job, and he's rubbing it in Satan's face because nobody loves Satan like Job loves God. This makes God seem rather petty, in my opinion.

With that in mind, it is hard for me to take the ending of Job seriously. God seems rather selfish himself. He points out everything he has control over that humans are only witnesses of, which apparently he hasn't gotten enough credit for so he has to bring up again. Job's apology to God basically says he is ignorant and unworthy, and God likes this. And then, without giving Job's friends a chance to repent, he praises Job and grudgingly orders them to sacrifice to him as punishment. God is fickle indeed.

Back to the question of why people suffer. Although Job has a strange plot line, I still think the idea of selfishness is a good answer. About a month ago, I had a revelation of sorts. I decided that all humans are primarily selfish beings and the ultimate fulfillment of life is to stimulate the senses (see, feel, taste, hear, smell). Through the senses comes the most pleasure, and each person wants to gain pleasure through their own senses. Everybody wants to take care of himself/herself before taking care of other people because that's how people are — selfish.

Why does God dislike selfishness? The answer is obvious; he wants people to put him first. This is why people are supposed to devote their lives to doing things for him, which apparently mainly consists of talking about him and getting others to do the same thing, as well as following all sorts of strange rituals and rules. This ties into the second quote at the top of my post — human actions can only impact other humans; God observes. As long as things are done in the name of God, they're acceptable.

One could argue that the central question of The Slave is, "Why do people suffer?" Jacob wonders why he is a slave as he recites verses saying the Lord will not make him a slave. The ironic thing is that through his attempted devoutness, he suffers even more. I'm not going to go into detail because I'm not done with the book, but it's definitely a theme I've noticed.

One justification for people suffering on earth is that they will have an amazing, suffer-free life after death in "heaven" or whatever it's called. This is also apparently why they should devote their lives to teaching others about God, so more people can have better lives after they die. It's a complete oxymoron.

I'll take karma any day. There's good and bad, and it is our actions. Why do people suffer? Because they would not know joy otherwise.