Why do bad things happen to good people?

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

There never seems to be a good time to write about suffering. I’ve been watching the news and waiting for a day when there wouldn’t be a news piece on war, drought, flood, homelessness, health issues, power struggles, or worst of all the tragic loss of life. 

Bad things seem to happen every day to those who didn’t participate in their demise, those who were just going about their business-working or going for a run. This blog is not an attempt to deal with any one issue, but to look at the bigger picture and perhaps try to answer the questions: 

Why is there suffering in the world at all? 

And what is God doing about it? 

… If you are walking through grief right now this may not be the blog for you.  

This world is not what it was meant to be

In the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, the story unfolds of how we got here in the first place. God has created a world where human beings would thrive under the rule of God. After each day of creation God said it was good. When He made mankind in His image He said it was very good! Adam and Eve didn’t know sin, fear, loss, grief, anger, jealousy or envy. They were in harmony with each other and in harmony with God! 

Such a world is difficult to imagine

When a new baby is born, we can catch glimpses of how this perfect world must have looked like. Moments of laughter, good company, sunrise on a clear, bright day, and forgiveness remind us of all the good that exists in our world.  

So why all this other stuff!?

What’s gone wrong?

It started with Adam and Eve who had everything they needed. 

There was only one rule. 

God, who had created them, and whose world they were living in, commanded them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they did they would die.   

Next, we read about the serpent (God’s enemy, Satan) tempting Eve to take the fruit. He does so by casting doubt on the word of God… Did God really say? Eve is tempted by the fruit, she eats, she gives some to Adam, he eats and the rest is history! 

Sin enters the world. 

And harmony is broken.

Relationships are fractured 

The innocence they once knew has been replaced by a knowledge of good and evil. The blame game is now played out….it’s her fault…it’s the serpent’s fault.  If ever there was a time to weep it’s now. Death has entered paradise, they are told that they are made from dust and to dust they will return.  

The implications for us 

The price tag of the consequences for all humanity is high. What follows is a history of murder, corruption, lies, fraud, jealousy, bribery, power struggles and a rejection of God. We have only to read or listen to the daily news to conclude that much suffering proceeds from evil intent, negligence, mismanagement, selfish ambitions or power play. 

Need I go on?

Natural disasters, incurable illnesses, man’s inhumanity to man…I don’t have to tell you that something isn’t right. Children grasp this quite quickly. The most common response is “so if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned we’d all live in the Garden Of Eden?” 

What is God doing about it?

God’s plan was to send someone to defeat the Enemy. In order to do this, he put in place a nation and prophecies, even crucifixion. And then His Son came. He went to the Cross to  take the punishment for sin. During Holy Week as we relive the Gospels scenes of Jesus’ betrayal and death we are reminded that He faced head on the consequences of Adam’s sin and our personal sins and He conquered death by rising from the dead.

At this point, you may ask “why is the world still in this mess if Christ died over 2000 years ago?” And while there’s no simple answer, there is a New Heaven and Earth yet to come. There is the hope of eternity with God for those who are trusting in what His Son has done on the Cross. In the meantime, God’s people are entrusted with the task of working for goodness, justice, showing compassion and hope to those in need. 

Why me?

But when suffering strikes, it's natural to work through the pain and wonder, why did it happen to me/my family? Have I done something wrong? 

In the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus this very question. Why was a man born blind at birth “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answers with an emphatic No (John 9v1-3).  He explains that those who suffer can be innocent many times - but that the consequences of evil that is unleashed on the world affects us all. 

This is hard to understand. We may never get the answer we need as to why it happened. In my experience what we really want is that it hadn’t happened at all. We would all much prefer to live a world without suffering.

God meets us in our grief

God is not removed from us. 

Jesus knows our pain and suffering. 

He identifies with us in our humanity and provides comfort and strength and peace. This world is not all there is. Jesus has made sure of it. Every pain and suffering will end. We are journeying to heaven and each day each moment is a step closer to our everlasting home, Heaven.  

This has to be our Greatest Hope and Strength in times of suffering.