Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Why do bad things happen to good people?  More specifically, why does God (who is supposedly good) allow such terrible things to happen in people’s lives?  If you are a Christian or a religious person, you may ask why you bother serving a God who lets upsetting and disturbing experiences happen to you.  Worse, why is it that “religious people” are often the cause of disheartening incidents?  Sadly, there are many examples of this.  While I don’t wish to get into a history lesson, it was European Catholics (“Christians”) who took it upon themselves to murder hundreds of “non-Christians” in the name of Christ during the Middle Ages.  Further, it was our early American Father’s (mostly Christians) who believed it was OK to capture African human beings, pack them into boats as if they were sardines, and enslave them in the name of money.  These are two major examples of the “religious” practicing injustice and causing “bad things to happen to good people.”

In my own personal life, I find that the older I get the more difficult situations I have to face.  Growing up is painful and I have thrown my fair share of pity parties and temper tantrums trying to stop it!  In my still-young- life of 26 years, I have faced the difficulties of chronic pain, devastating “break-ups,” losing jobs for no good reason, and my husband losing jobs for no good reason.  Unfortunately, many people who have made my life more difficult were people who claimed to “love God!”  This makes the pain and injustice all the more devastating!   While my situations were and are very tough to deal with, I realize that other people face far greater pain then myself.

When I put things into perspective, I realize that my chronic headaches are nothing compared to people who are fighting cancer or literally starving to death.  I recognize that my “heart-breaks” are nothing compared to those who have suffered the loss of a child or have been abandoned by a spouse.  I understand that I or my husband losing our jobs is nothing compared to people who have been out of work for years, live on the streets, or resort to demeaning jobs to feed their children and pay their bills.  The truth is that no matter how horrific our situations become, we can always find someone who is facing something even more difficult than us!  When bad things happen to us, it is in our human nature to have a pity-party and find someone to blame.  When we run out of people to blame, we often blame ourselves.  When blaming ourselves becomes too painful, we often resort to blaming God.

We don’t instantly blame God because we are logical enough to realize that God did not directly cause our troubles, but people did.  If you believe in God and have a relationship with Him, He is not the first one you want to start accusing.  Overtime, however, if things get worse or stay the same, we often question the goodness of God.  We may find ourselves in tears asking, “How can God allow this to happen to me?”  The word “allow” is key in our desperate need for answers.  In fact, it is this word that causes many Christians to leave their faith behind and many everyday folks to become atheists.  Many can just not fathom a God who would allow so many terrible things to happen all around the world!  While this way of thinking is completely understandable, it is illogical for us to believe that we can wrap our minds around God.  In other words, if God is real and He is the creator of all human-kind, why would any person assume that they would be able to understand “the goodness of God?”

While it is impossible to understand why God allows bad things to happen on this earth, it is possible to understand that God is bigger than us.  His ways are higher than ours.  His thoughts are deeper than ours.  His ways are different than ours.  He does not reason as we do.  He is not human, but the creator of all things.  He has no beginning or end.  His existence has always been and cannot be explained or understood.  I do not put my faith in “a God who allows bad things to happen;” I put my faith in a God who was compassionate enough to send His precious son to the earth to be afflicted with the worst mental, emotional, and physical pain one can suffer (at the hands of “religious” people) for the sin of all man-kind.  It is the “sin” of man that causes bad things to happen to good people.  Even organic diseases go back to the first man sinning and allowing evil (sin and sickness) to enter our world.  I choose to put my trust in God, who sent Jesus (who was God in the flesh) to suffer with His creation and die on the cross for our sins!

So, the question is extended from “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people” to “Why does God let bad things happen to all people, including Himself in the flesh?”  While this question can really only be answered by God Himself, it is OK to speculate His reasoning.  It is important to understand that God does not think within earthy limitations, but thinks eternally.  In other words, God thinks more about the things that will last throughout eternity, rather than earthly matters.  For Christians, this means that God is more interested in your character than the happenings of your life.  While God cares deeply for our earthly struggles, He is more interested in seeing how we respond to those earthly struggles.  If you are anything like me, you kick and scream, hoping to get your way.  However, the spiritually mature, learn to put their trust in God despite their circumstances.  This is God’s goal and one reason He allows bad things to happen.  He wants us to love and trust Him on the sunniest of days as well as the rainiest of days.  He desires for us to respond to struggles as He does – fearing nothing because we know that earthly struggles will fade away and those who remain true to Christ will spend eternity pain and struggle free in the presence God!

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