by Darian Sinclair

Created on: May 30, 2011

Bad things happen to good people because God does not have an active role in our daily lives. I can only write from my experience of God based on the Christian Bible, and from what I understand of it, God has given us free will so that we will have the choice to accept Him or not. Free will for eternal salvation can also be the explanation for sufferings in daily life, because the Christian God does not interfere with the choices we make unless someone intercedes on our behalf. But it there is no perfect answer for why bad things happen.

Keep in mind that God had to let His only Son suffer and die so that we may have life, as John 10:10 writes, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life...”. The point to remember is that the world that we live in is nothing compared to the love of Jesus. There is nothing this world can offer that is greater than the gift God gave us.

There are good people in this world and there are good things that happen to them, but there will always be bad things that happen as well. This is because “good” and “bad” are subjective words that have different meaning to each individual person. If the meaning of these words are different from person to person, then think how different they are to an omnipotent being such as God, whose understanding surpasses ours by all measurable standards. It is not a punishment from God when something negatively occurs in your life. Rely upon the Holy Spirit to comfort you in your time of need. The paradox that is the Holy Trinity was revealed to us for that purpose. It is the Holy Spirit that intercedes on your behalf to comfort you and carry your prayers to God.

Faith is the key to unlocking the mystery of why bad things happen. Why do children starve to death without knowing the love of someone dear? Why do these terrible disasters seem to strike homes indiscriminately?  It is a difficult thought to ponder why God allows these things to happen, and can make even the most firm believer question whether God is benevolent, ambivalent or evil.

You have to ask yourself, “Was the sacrifice that Jesus made good enough?” if you are going to find an answer to the question of why terrible things happen to good people. Because it is not the events that occur in this world that matter in terms of your eternal salvation. Let the circumstances that surround your life lead you in the direction that you have already chosen to move in. Let the trials that come your way strengthen your faith, not diminish it. God does not have to justify anything for us, but we like to use God as an easy target to blame something on when we should take responsibility for our own actions. The better question might be, “Why do good people make bad choices?” Because if we are going to ask why bad things happen to good people, we have to ask ourselves what right we have to pose the question in the first place.  How devoted to your faith are you?

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