@RespectableCon Very skewed wonder as to how data is presented. Most people in blue collar states do not itemize on taxes therefore data will not show charitable giving. I would love to know where this data comes from.
Suffering is not an interruption to the Christian life. In the hands of God, it is one of the ordinary means by which He strips away pride, exposes false comforts, trains obedience, and conforms His people to Christ.
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
This does not mean that pain itself makes us holy. Unbelievers suffer, fools suffer because of their own choices, and even Christians may suffer for doing wrong. Christian suffering is hardship received under the rule of God, endured in faith, and answered with obedience rather than bitterness, compromise, or revenge.
“What credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (1 Peter 2:20).
We have been trained to treat comfort as normal and affliction as evidence that something has gone wrong. Scripture reverses that thinking. It tells us that trials are not strange visitors in the house of faith. They are often the tools by which our Father teaches us that Christ is enough when everything else is taken away.
“He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).
God does not waste the suffering of His children. He uses pressure to reveal what ease allowed us to hide. He teaches us patience when escape is delayed, faith when sight gives no comfort, and obedience when faithfulness becomes costly.
“Tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
The church that preaches holiness without preparing believers to suffer will produce people who obey only while obedience is convenient. Once truth threatens reputation, relationships, income, or safety, their profession begins to bend.
But Christ did not call us to follow Him only across quiet ground. He called us to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him through whatever obedience requires.
“To you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29).
We should never seek suffering for its own sake, but neither should we flee faithfulness to avoid it. A holy life is not proved merely by what we confess in comfort. It is proved when loss comes, obedience still stands, and Christ remains more precious than what suffering has taken.