I'm just a little confused by a quote from LCMS Sprecher here: "Suffering is a result of the imperfection of the world." She claims the world is imperfect, but didn't God create the world? Wouldn't the imperfection of one of God's creations put God in a fallible light?
My answer to this operates under the assumptions that the "imperfection" everyone is referring to concerns moral attributes, not mental or physical qualities, and that the proceedings that result from these attributes (e.g. - the fall of satan and the proneness of humans to sin) are judged by an absolute standard.
Your question carries an interesting implication: that God, if he were perfect, should have created us perfect as well. First consider the ramifications of this requirement if it were put into effect: a universe filled only of perfect beings. It doesn't sound so bad. But remember that these beings a perfect based on a standard, the standard of the cosmic force that created them. This standard only would allow these beings to function in the manner that pleased the creator. In other words, a programmed perfection would take free will entirely out of the picture.
What is so important about free will? First I would like to point out that love requires a choice. Secondly, what applies to evil also applies to love. While man has a great potential to do evil, he also has a potential to love that is directly proportional to this potential to do evil. Lucifer was the greatest of all creatures, not because he was actually good, but because he had the potential to do good. Along with this great potential for good came and unimaginable potential for evil. Everything starts with a choice.
So in conclusion I would say, no, god's creations do not put him in a fallible light because he only chose to give his creations a choice; it is his creations that choose to be imperfect. Additionally, humans may make mistakes but it is the measures we take to avoid mistakes that are really important. And again, from the Christian perspective, God is pleased even with our falls as long as the will to walk is really there.
Which leads us to another topic:
The idea you've presented (with a little help from C.S. Lewis ) basically states that god subjects us to pain and suffering, because it is during those times that we turn to him for help the most, and obviously that is what he wants. This concept disturbs me a little. Do you think that it's right for god to make people suffer, just so they'll stroke his ego? I don't mean to offend here, this is just what's going through my head. What are your ideas on this?
You are nearly right, but you have one tiny misconception about these views. God does want us to turn to him. God does do whatever is in his power to get us there without violating his metaphysical laws. God wants us to come to him for his sake. But your list stops short. God also wants us to come to him for our sake (both the individual and human kind). The standards that god would have put forth would be for our own good. Following them would only make us better. If the ideas of sin were true, then being obedient could not hurt us, it could only help. That is why god would want us to come to him.