A question to ponder

I had to go to a family function at Church this last week and it got me to thinking. When God drew up the list of diseases to create, do you think He knew all the harships associated with Type 1 diabetes??? And if He knew, do you think the people He gave it to was a punishment for some thning in their life??

Or does He just punish for no good reason??? Thoughts???

I don’t think that God is punishing me for anything. We all have obstacles constantly in our lives, whether it be diabetes or something else. Life is not easy. There are times when you are going to fall. You just have to suck it up, get back up, and live life the best that you can. God didn’t make perfect people. If people were perfect, what would our purpose be here on earth? If this world and the people in it were perfect, we wouldn’t have anything to work towards. There would be no room for improvement because we are already perfect. There wouldnt be any lessons to learn. Diabetes is just another thing we have to work through.

Hope I made since, I felt like I was just rambling lol

I don’t believe diabetes is a punishment. But you can look at it like this, it is our destiny and god gave it to us to test our patience and the welling to live our life fighting it while praying for him. Also to test the people who loved and suffered for us. And I believe that who among us believe in god and pray for him, he or she will have a higher rank in the judgment day. Since I also believe, that people who suffer and thanks god for everything will be rewarded at the end or in the second life!

Hope this helps you in clearing your mind!

i liked your thoughts ahmad

My mind is a simple mind and maybe not as religious as some …I don’t blame/punishment any one , including Higher Powers and ME for having diabetes, for having had to go through breast cancer, for having to deal with osteoporosis , for marrying my support system Gordon , for having diabetes taking up a lot of time, etc. etc. …because I choose this to be my mission in life , during work time and after retirement …I just pray I put this in the correct prospective.

Here are my thoughts:

I don’t find it as a punishment. I have diabetes, it’s not the end of the world. I have to deal with it and keep on going. If diabetes or any disease was a punishment, what did a small child do? There is absolutely no way it could be a punishment, the only punishment is to be pessimistic and not make the best out of life. The grass looks greener on the other side. Once you get there, it isn’t as green as you may have perceived it. I was placed here by a higher power to educate and make a difference, if I find this as a punishment then I’m not accomplishing what I was put here for.

No I do not think God is punishing folks with diabetes. I do not see God as one who punishes. i do not like my disease, but as a person who has two chronic autoimmune diseases, i feel that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) would be the punishment if God were punishing me. i know that sounds foreign to people who do not have RA, but the RA is far worse.

Now on to the real question is a chronic illness a punishment? As I said above I do not feel that God punishes. I find that as many opportunities have come because of diabetes as those I have lost. This damn disease shaped my life form the time i was a little kid. My mom was at deaths door for 18 years, I got it when I was 17, in short it is who I am. One can say oh it has been cruel. And it has. But lets also understand I have no idea what the alternative would have been.

Oh I dream of what might have been. I could have lived in Washington DC, I could have been an attorney, i might have traveled the world, if only I did not have diabetes. Then of course there is the other way to look at it. I might have gone to Washington DC and fallen on face, I may have chased the big idea and been awful at it, I might have crashed in an airplane, or worse yet never gotten on one.

Instead, I lived a pretty normal life, I worked, had pretty good health for a few years and now I cannot work at all. I have two wonderful sons, a beautiful wife and a nice dog. Yes that is awfully normal, and i did not want to be normal. Normal isn’t to bad considering the alternative.

So no I do not feel punished and maybe I even feel saved. But here is the main question. If I did not have diabetes what would have happened? I cannot feel punished for what I hoped might happen. i know these days that hopes are so easy to have and so hard to cash in. i also know that cashing in a hope also means that you can lose everything. So, am i being punished? Or am I being saved. Only God knows.

rick phillips

My personal experiences in life lead me to believe that our hardships teach us that we are all dependent on others, and train us to serve others. We lose the hubris of believing we are completely independent, and in learning to overcome our obstacles, we learn how to help others overcome similar obstacles.

Think of it less as a punishment and more as a way of G-d training you to be His Steward.

No. I don’t think it’s a punishment. ESPECIALLY when one is diagnosed at such a young age: ie - 6 years old. That doesn’t make sense to me. Diabetes is all apart of His plan. It is most challenging, yes, but who would I be today if I wasn’t diagnosed? Yes - God know how much of a hardship it is to have diabetes, but he also knows how hard it is to live this LIFE, in general. What about Cancer? an abusive spouse? You could think of a million things that God would “punish” you with, but it won’t change the fact that He loves us and has given us this disease for a reason, whether you believe it or not.

=)

I don’t believe any diseases, or misfortune, are punishment from a diety in the sky, or from the universe. Also don’t believe in rewards from HIM or HER.

That is a fairly limited view of your options. That’s like “what do you want for dinner - dirt because I hate you or dirt because I happen to have some lying around.”

I don’t believe anyone gave me diabetes, I don’t believe in any god, and I believe that the human body, while intricately capable of so much, has multiple single points of failure. It makes perfect sense to me that people from any walk of life, in any economic circumstance, on any continent, could have a non-functioning pancreas. Why me? I don’t know. It seems like a waste of my energy to think on it that way. Would it help me to have an answer? Would it make it easier to control my blood sugar? I doubt it.

But I’m infinitely thankful to science and research and the progress that has given me insulin and a pump. I’m thankful for my parents and my husband and my friends who make living with a medical condition easier. I’m thankful for my doctors. I guess I could lash out at someone, but my pancreas has a sucky enough life without me yelling at it all the time.

No I do not believe that any trials we humans endure are puishment. I believe in the “randomness of the universe” - each of us gets dealt a hand out of the big shuffle. But I also beleive that there is indeed a Higher Power that we can draw strength from - that walks beside us on our journey and offers wisdom and comfort in times of need.

disease is not a punishment, if you believe your life should have meaning, then seek out the meaning. disease may change the decisions you make in the future, but disease does not define you, unless you desire it to define you.

I dont think God was the one who drew up the list of diseases to deal out to His children. If He did, what kind of Father would He be? (Though if we mess up, I believe He will use some form of correction like the Amazing Father He is) I think making the list was all Satans doing. And as soon as Adam and Eve made the mistake of letting sin into the world, Satan dealt them out.

Think about it, John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Usually people just know that part of it, and not verses 17 and 18, which say “(17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” If He’s not condemning us, then He must love us.

While I was flipping through the Bible another thing caught my attention: Deuteronomy 13:3 “you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.” I think He’s just testing me with Diabetes. I can either say “Hey God, you sent this to me, so you must not love me” and walk away from Him, failing the test, or I can say “God, I cant do this on my own. Ive tried and made a mess. Im giving control of my life to You.” and that would make me closer to Him.

Int he Bible, Job went through testing too. That poor dude was majorly tested. But he used it to get closer to God. And, in the end, what Satan took away is what God multiplied and gave back.

Honestly, God is my Best Friend/Father, and He would never let anything hurt me for absolutely no reason at all. And he will never leave me
b

God will not give us a burden that we can’t handle. So if we are in mess which is impossible to resolve, think it as compliment. God thinks we can do it. Believe in GOD…

Na, we’re like cars, or flowers, and something broke. Oops!

God is merciful not cruel. I do not believe that he causes us to have diseases or misfortunes. He gives People the choice between right and wrong on earth while we are here. Unfortunately People choose wrong more often, than not.

Some People like “messing around” with things because they are curious or cruel. I think it’s their “messing around” with other People, cells, chemicals, plant-life, etc. long ago, that has caused these malfunctions of the body. These actions probably have made the decendants predisposed to the same malfunctions or diseases.

God gives us Gifts and hope to better ourselves. Thankfully, People like Manny and Andreina are using their Gifts to allow us to help others in many ways. Our prayers may not Cure anyone but they do help a Person to elevate their own natural healing powers.

Seen many people with burdens they couldn’t handle. Known people who committed suicide because of the weight of their burdens. Excruciating pain (physical &/or mental) as a compliment from a god.

These are good questions, Ryan. First, I don’t believe God gave me T1 diabetes. My great grandfather had diabetes prior to there being insulin available, and he had both legs amputated before dying from the disease, so I feel that I might have received some predisposition to diabetes in my biological makeup. And at the time of my diagnosis, I was majorly overweight and under a great deal of stress. With all these factors, I think my diabetes was a likely happening, not a God-given punishment. Twenty-two years after my becoming a diabetic, I was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, which is an inflammation of the skin and muscle. Interestingly, this particular disease showed up exactly one week after a routine flu shot, which some doctors have felt was definitely related. If that’s the case, God was not punishing me there either. Second, I believe that God helps us face our struggles, and gives us strength for the journey of faith we are on. Fortunately, diabetes is now a manageable disease, with insulin available, frequent blood glucose testing, and smart eating choices. Dermatomyositis is also manageable, with a daily and a weekly medication. As long as I feel that I can still help another person in need, no matter what my specific pains are, I think of myself as very fortunate. I thank God every day for the life I have, and I ask Him to help get me through rough spots from time to time, and He does. Sorry about the long answer, but you asked some very serious questions.