The Problem of Pain: Human Pain

In the sixth chapter of C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain, he discusses pain as it relates to humans. I like the distinction he makes between the two kinds of pains. The first, Lewis explains, is a sensation given to us by our “nerve fibres”. This kind of pain isn’t necessarily disliked by the patient; for example, while working out, the ache in one’s muscles is tolerated or even enjoyable. The second kind of pain, however, is never wanted by the patient. This second kind of pain, which the remainder of the chapter addresses, is defined as “any experience, whether physical or mental, which the patient dislikes.” To help us better understand what he means by this type of pain, Lewis gives us synonyms like “suffering”, “anguish”, and “tribulation”.

Next, Lewis dives into the much more difficult task of explaining why we have pain. It is interesting to note that the research paper I wrote last year for my English 101 class was on the topic of God’s role in suffering. While I have read about the reasons Lewis gives for pain (in the Bible as well as other books on the topic), it was interesting to see the different perspectives and methods of explanation Lewis used. One insightful point Lewis makes is that “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscious, but shouts in our pain: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Sometimes we are so focused on worldly things that we fail to realize God is trying to talk to us. While it hurts, pain is a fantastic tool to get us to listen to God. I think it is true of most people that they feel closest to God during or immediately after a rough spell in their lives.

Another interesting point Lewis makes is how some believe that everything we do will naturally cause pain to us, because our nature is inherently anti-God. Lewis believes, and I would tend to agree with him, that this is only sometimes the case. Sometimes our will coincides with God’s will, albeit we may (and probably do) have different reasons. It’s amazing to think about pre-Fall Adam and Eve, whose will always coincided with God’s will. This means they would have achieved utmost pleasure from doing God’s will. In fact, pain would come (and did) only from doing something against God’s will. Maybe heaven will be like this: the greatest earthly pleasure we can think of (e.g. sex, drugs, wealth) will not even compare to the pleasure we get from doing what God wants, because it will also be what we want.