why do bad things happen
to good people?
Although this question can be answered in an intellectual form, it requires more than reasoning. Tragic and difficult circumstances cross the paths of all of us. The very fact that all of us will die at some point is difficult enough to handle. Life is challenging, and the entire human race is exposed to hardship, heartache and suffering.
The obvious question is: Why would a good God allow His creation to suffer? People have struggled with this question throughout the centuries. We don’t claim to shed any new light on it here, or to answer it in a way that is completely satisfactory to the finite human mind. We do, however, believer there are answers.
The first response has to do with God’s creative choice. When He made mankind, God chose to give Him freewill. He did not, and does not, force people to worship Him or obey His commands. This obviously opens up the opportunity for people to make wrong choices that hurt themselves or others.
Why, you ask, would God give His creation the ability to make this choice? We believe that God did not want to create robotic children. He wanted to give people the ability to love Him and each other. And love is always voluntary.
If we could have children born without freewill, most of us would opt against this. Why? Because even though we know our children can take wrong paths, we want their love to be genuine, not programmed.
Second, if we ask God to get rid of all evil, He would have to get rid of us. The Bible tells us that all of us have done things that God considers evil. Yet God chooses to accept us anyway.
The Bible teaches that God is patient, wanting to give everyone an opportunity to turn to Him and forsake evil. However, there will be a day of final judgment on a date known only by God. At that time, every unatoned evil action will be punished by His righteous judgment.
Still, you may wonder about cancer or infant mortality or freak accidents. These ravages have nothing to do, seemingly, with human behavior. However, the Bible teaches that, as a result of sin, the entire world is suffering. Even the environment seems to groan under the weight of sin.
The Bible teaches that God hurts when we hurt, and feels the pain of the broken hearted. He promises that He will give His followers the strength to make it through the challenges and difficulties of life, and will not leave them alone.
And, though we don’t like to acknowledge it during trials, good can result from hard times. Difficult circumstances tend to make us better people and help us learn valuable lessons from life. They can draw us closer to God.
Finally, God Himself is not sheltered from suffering. He suffered the ultimate pain, isolation and humiliation when He gave His Son Jesus to die an agonizing death to pay for the sins of mankind.
Regardless
of what we believe about God, hard times will come. We must decide whether we will travel life with God at our side during these difficulties or go it alone.
Faith is required to accept the goodness of God alongside the presence of suffering and evil. We must humbly submit ourselves to a God who has proven Himself loving by giving up the life of His own Son. He wants to walk beside us during our trials.
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Common Questions
How can I find God?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
Am I good enough for God?
Will I go to Heaven?
Why should I believe in God?
Who was Jesus?
What about Christians who are hypocrites?
What makes Christianity so special? What about other religions?
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why should I trust the Bible?
Do faith and science conflict?
If you're searching for God, you're on a noble quest. The Bible says, "'‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.”