I often hear the question, “Why do bad
things happen to good people.” The
question comes from doubts of God’s justice and mercy, and even His sovereign
authority. There are two common misconceptions
to this question that we need to explore.
The first misconception that the person is
good and that we can judge that. Romans 3:12
says “There is none who does good, no, not one.” What makes us think
that any man is so good that he does not deserve full justice? Just because a
person lives above the normal level of sin does not mean that they are
good. Our judgment of good and evil are
tainted by our hearts, which are continually evil (Genesis 6:5). God looks upon the heart of man (1 Samuel
16:7), and judges based according to what He sees. We cannot judge whether a man is good or bad
because we do not see the heart. Only
God can rightfully judge a man.
The second misconception is that
everything that hurts or harms a person in this life is a “bad” thing. Yet, when we discipline our children we don’t
see what we’re doing as a “bad” thing, but we understand it to be what is
needed to prune the child into the adult we want them to grow to be. Can we not see the same in God’s
choices? Proverbs 3:12 says “For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just
as a father the son in whom he delights.” The most loving thing God can do for us is to
correct us.
Given that we are not good, when we receive
evil in return for evil, God is only exercising justice. Justice is by definition getting what we
deserve. But - we don’t always get what
we deserve! God is also merciful. Sometimes we receive mercy, which is getting a
reprieve from what we deserve. In fact,
I believe we receive mercy so often that we fail to see it. Each and every one of us, day in and day out,
commit the same sins, knowingly and without shame, and yet we live. That’s mercy from a Holy and Sovereign God!
Those misconceptions aside, we have to
understand that not all evil that enters our lives is because of our sins, and
some people good - and a rare jewel when we find them. To these God also allows evil, but it is for
their good.
Consider Job. God said that “there is none like him on the
earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” – and he
said it to the devil himself, willingly turning Job over to Satan. According to God, Job had not deserved any of
what was about to befall him, and yet within a matter of minutes, he lost all
his livestock, all his servants, and finally, all his children – seven sons and
three daughters. God’s purpose was to
test Job, and Job withstood the test in such a great way! Job 1:21-22 records Job as saying “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the
name of the Lord.” and says that in all of his pain, he did not charge God with
any wrong.
Sometimes those who are the best of men
are tested and tried by God, and the tool for the test is evil itself. The end result for Job was that God “blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”
and gave him an even greater amount of wealth and gave him back seven sons and
three daughters. He lived to see his
children and four generations of grandchildren, and it was said that there were
none found in the land as beautiful as his daughters. He died at the ripe old age of 140, enjoying
it all for longer than he had the other.
God’s blessings will always make the test
worthwhile. His plans for us are good
and “not of evil” (Jeremiah 29:11) because God wants us to have one thing more
than any other – an intimate relationship with Him. He seeks to cause us to lean in to Him in the
midst of our pain and suffering in this world.
When we are weak – He is strong (2 Corinthians 13:9). If we never experienced pain and suffering,
we would never seek out God. We would
not know what to be thankful for because blessings and the good things of life
would be all we know. But God wants a
loving relationship with us. He wants to
be our Father, the One that provides for us.
Even with His own son, Jesus Christ, He
allowed evil and suffering. He allowed
Him to be misunderstood, hated, rejected, wrongfully accused, assaulted,
hunted, and murdered. Peter realized
this and gave us advice for those times when we receive evil in this
world. He said for us to not thing it is
so strange, and to understand it is a trail.
He said for us to “rejoice to the extent that
you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may
also be glad with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:13). That glory lies within us, through His Holy Spirit. It is revealed when we withstanding the test,
and the beauty of His Spirit, His divine nature, shines through.
Instead of questioning God’s will and why
bad things happen to good people, we should pray that God gives them the courage
and strength to withstand it, so we can see His glory revealed in their lives.
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