Editor’s note: This article was submitted for publication Fall 2018. This is a late upload.
By: Rev. David Wilson Rogers
“God will not give you more than you can handle.” It is a popular belief within Christianity and one that many have understandably used to find strength and courage amid the struggles of life. It is also very much a dangerous lie and misinterpretation of God’s word!
The actual verse used to justify this belief is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which reads, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
The first thing to note about this text is that Paul is not speaking to individuals, but rather to the church as a whole. The original Greed wording uses a plural “you” in every instance here. This is important also when looking at verse 13 in the broader context of the whole book. The strength of life in Christ is described as inextricably tied to the community of believers working in partnership as the One Body of Christ.
Too often, Christians unwittingly—and quite destructively—place this admonition of testing onto individuals as if the lone Christian is to somehow find the strength in faith to overcome the challenges of life. Yet, to do so, violates the principle of the passage. No individual is expected to bear the burdens of life’s challenges alone because it is the whole church—united in Christ Jesus and bound in his love—that is called to band together to help those in need and afford the necessary compassion, grace, and love our Christian faith requires. The 12th Chapter of 1st Corinthians expands on this principle with eloquent symbolism regarding the unity of the Body and Galatians 6 explicitly calls on Christians to “Bear one another’s burdens.”
A second problem with the populist interpretation of God not testing one beyond one’s ability is a misguided burden of fault and blame that is frequently placed upon the one suffering. The religious authorities of Jesus’ day tried to use this false logic on Christ himself in John 9 and Luke 13. The central answer is that suffering is often just a reality of life. Bad things happen. People struggle. Life is difficult. Sometimes the pain we suffer may be the natural result of choices we, or others, have made. Sometimes, the struggles come from the church neglecting, and unfairly judging others and failing to love as Christ loves. Yet, in most cases, the struggles of life are simply the reality of life. God never promised faith would mean a trouble-free life. Yet God does promise that if the Church is truly active in faith, there will be the means to work through the struggles.
The 10th Chapter of 1st Corinthians is really a call for the Church to be the Church. There is no room in the chapter for judging those who suffer or placing blame upon the source of their struggles. Rather, it is a call for the Church to enter into the sufferings of others with compassionate grace just as Christ exemplified on the Cross. Romans 5:4 and James 1:3 remind us that life’s challenges do provide the means for strengthening in hope and faith, but that hope is borne on the Church reaching into the lives of those in need and embodying the heart of Christ pouring forth in Christian love.
The communal and compassionate role of a faithful church to those who struggle is perhaps best summarized in the words of James 5:13-16. Here the church is called to prayerfully enter into the sufferings and joys of those in need to pray with compassion and grace. There is no judgment; only forgiveness and grace. This is how the church works through the pains of everyday life and the struggles that come from the world.
