Why does God allow birth defects?
Question
I was born with Spina Bifida. My understanding is that God didn’t give me this condition but rather it’s a result of original sin. The sin we inherited from Adam and Eve. I don’t think it’s a result of my own sin or that of my parents. God isn’t capable of creating anything evil or doing evil, but what Satan meant for harm God turns to something good for His glory. Am I seeing that correctly?
Response
From Rev. Dr. George Payton: The ultimate answer to this difficult question is that when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3), they brought evil, sickness, disease, and death into the world. Sin has been wreaking havoc on humanity ever since. Birth defects occur because of sin - - not because of sins the parents or the baby have committed, but because of sin itself. The hard part of the question is why God allows people to be born with terrible birth defects and/or deformities. Why doesn’t God prevent birth defects from occurring?
The Book of Job deals with the issue of not understanding why God allows certain things to occur. God had allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job except kill him. What was Job’s reaction? “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21). Job didn’t understand why God had allowed the things He did, but he knew that God was good and therefore continued to trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well. God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God’s goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Ultimately, the answer to this question must be “I don’t know.” We will never be able to fully understand God and His ways. We simply must trust that He is loving, good, and merciful – just like Job did – even when the evidence seems to indicate the opposite. Sickness and disease are the result of sin. God provided the “cure” for sin in sending Jesus Christ to die for us (Romans 5:8). Once we are in heaven, we will be free from sickness, disease, and death. Until that day, we will have to deal with sin, its effects, and its consequences. We can praise God, though, that He can and will use birth defects and other tragedies for our good and His glory. John 9:2-3 declares, "His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'"
From Pastor Richard: I would add to this answer that you do not know the impact your testimony is having and is going to have on the world around you. We all know that following God can be easy when things are going good, but to be able to praise God through difficulty is such a powerful example to the world! We live in a world where the victim mentality is running rampant; to be able to stand boldly against that and instead of being drawn into darkness, shining a light of hope will cause people to look at you and know that there is something great at work within you!!!