That Persistent Question: Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

It’s a question as old as man. Or, at least as old as that day when man first came to believe in a supreme being. Because we and those we love are all human, and, therefore, fragile and mortal, we will all have occasion, sooner or later, to wrestle with it. Perhaps that occasion is, for some, yet to come, but come it will. And, when it does, each must arrive at an answer in his own way and in his own time. This is mine…

 

Having the phrase “good people” in the title makes it catchy. Bad things – good people, but using it is a little problematic for a couple of reasons. First of all, the implication that good people are the only ones to whom bad things happen seems a little arrogant. Now, you might say that good people are the only ones who count and that bad people are only getting what they deserve, but the problem with that is who is to say who are good people and who are bad? According to the Bible, we are all sinners, and, therefore, “bad” so to speak. So, instead of saying “good people”, maybe we should just say “people”.

Undoubtedly, God could, with just the slightest wave of his hand, banish all bad things from our lives forever. That would be a great gift, wouldn’t it? Or would it? Would we then be like little robots running around pre-programmed to do certain things in a certain way at certain times — all life events set, pre-planned, and known? If so, where would be the fun in that?

So, that’s the gift He didn’t give us. The gift He did give us is, however, much, much better. It’s called “free will”, and it’s His gift to all people, bad as well as good. Free will gives us the opportunity to set a course for our lives, to follow it, and to alter or change it whenever we think necessary. It also gives others the ability, whether their intentions be good or evil, to step in and influence that course.

Because of free will, we can do things that are good for us, and we can do things that are bad for us — like smoking or drinking to excess or eating things that are bad for us or in quantities that we shouldn’t or not exercising, and on and on. Because of free will, others can cheat us or lie to us or steal from us or even do us physical harm. God could stop it in an instant, but to do so would be to revoke the free will of any person who might seek to do us wrong, and, like it or not, their claim to free will is as valid as ours.

So, God gives us a lot of rope. What we do with it, though, is up to us. We can leave it flapping in the wind, or we can anchor it to a mighty oak so that it will keep us safe when the winds of adversity are strong.  We can use it to corral a whole herd of mares of questionable virtue, or we can use it to lasso a single virtuous little filly. We can waste our time trying to rope a cloud, or we can use it like a fishing line to cast into the waters of opportunity. We can use it to save a drowning swimmer, or we can use it to do harm to others. We can use it to make our lives better, or we can use it to end them. We can use it to rappel down into Perdition, or we can use it to climb up to the Promised Land. That’s free will.

Free will can bring us both great joy and great sorrow, and we can also bring joy or sorrow to others, depending upon how we choose to use it. Free will is the reason that God, although He could, does not micro-manage our lives, and, given the choice — robot or free will — is there anyone, do you think, who would choose the former? I freely admit that I don’t know. Perhaps there are such people.

One thing I do know, however, is that miracles happen. I’ve seen them. Little ones mostly. I know of others, though, some of which were, as Ed Sullivan might have said, “Really, really big!” I do not pretend to know why He does them when He does them, why He does them for whom He does them, nor how it all relates to free will, but I can’t say that I worry about it much. Some things are just not meant for us to know in this life, and I reckon this is one. Maybe some day.

A movie is an expression of a person’s — or of many persons’ — free will. Movies can depict goodness or evil, morality or depravity. They can teach or fail to teach. They can smart us up or dumb us down. They can elate or depress. They can inspire or discourage. A few years ago, I saw one of the good ones which spoke to this same question — why does God allow bad things to happen to (good) people, and what I heard stuck with me. A man was speaking to his sweetheart, and his answer to the question was beautifully simple — something that even I could understand:

God’s promise is not that bad things won’t happen to us, but that He will be with us when they do.