Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? I. Introduction A. One of the difficult and pressing questions in the minds of many people B. Why do bad things happen to good people? C. A question asking about the fairness of it all 1. People who try to do the best they can but still have bad things happen 2. Children, other innocents sometimes suffer D. Why does this happen? Where is God in all of this? E. Since this is a great concern for many people, let us investigate from the Scriptures what God has to say II. How it is Possible A. How is it even possible that bad things happen to good people? B. Two factors at work: free will and sin C. Free will 1. When God made mankind, He did not create them to be as His robots, doing only that which He desired of them 2. Instead, He made us with free will: the ability to decide to do good or evil (Deuteronomy 30:19, Isaiah 7:15) 3. This has implications in regards to sin, as we will see shortly 4. It also means that God allows for tragic consequences to take place because of the free will decisions of others! a. Yes, God can intercede on account of prayer or for His purposes b. But many times the consequences are allowed to take place, and it can mean that others may suffer despite having not done anything wrong or to deserve it 5. Just as we can choose to do good for others and be a blessing for them, so also choices can be made that lead to the hurt of others! D. Sin 1. Man, in his free will, chose to sin, as seen in Genesis 3 2. Consequence of sin was not just death but also the cursing of creation (cf. Genesis 3:17-18, Romans 8:20-21) 3. Creation subjected to decay and corruption 4. Thus, Romans 5:12-18 5. While this is not teaching that humans inherit sin, it does teach that we are born into a climate of sin and its toxic effects! 6. Natural disasters exist because of the creation being subjected to death 7. Even people without sin, like babies and children, sometimes die or are sick-- not because of their sin, but being "collateral damage" because of the effect of sin in the world E. Bad things can happen to good people, therefore, because of the free will decisions of others and because of the corruption of creation on account of sin III. Turning the Question A. While free will and sin may explain how it can be that bad things happen to good people, such does not really satisfy as a reason B. Therefore, why is it that bad things happen to good people? C. A difficult question indeed! D. Yet, before we consider it any further, what are our expectations inherent in the question? E. Put simply, why do good things happen to good people? F. Why does anything happen to anyone? G. General expectation: "good" people are blessed, have "good" things happen to them; "bad" people are cursed, have "bad" things happen to them 1. Prevalent thought in the ancient Near East (cf. Job 11:18-20, Proverbs) 2. God's blessings and curses for Israel dependent on obedience or disobedience (Leviticus 26) H. Concept does not provide difficulty in general 1. At the end, it will work out that way: righteous obtain salvation, wicked obtain condemnation (Romans 2:5-10) 2. Even in life, blessings tend to attend to those who do good, difficulties beset those who are deep in wickedness (Proverbs 10:2-3, 10:6-7, etc.) I. Yet should this expectation really exist in any absolute way? 1. Where do we get the impression that good is always promised to those doing "good" and evil is always promised to those doing evil? 2. After all, who is really good (cf. Romans 3:10-23)? 3. Regardless, does God even promise only "good" things to those who love righteousness and serve Him? 4. Acts 14:22, Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 2:18-21 5. God is quite clear: those who are righteous will have bad things happen to them! 6. They will have to suffer and experience tribulation! 7. Indeed, God's blessings of salvation, hope, and love will remain with them (Romans 8), but that does not change the reality that they will have to suffer J. Job's perspective 1. We can gain much from Job's perspective as indicated in Job 1:21, Job 2:10 2. First of all, we came into this world with nothing, and we leave with nothing; hence, nothing is "owed" to us in life (cf. Job 1:21) 3. Secondly, if we are willing to receive blessings, should we also not be willing to receive adversity? Why would we thank God for one but curse Him on account of the other? K. It is manifest that part of the difficulty involves our own expectations-- we expect only good for the good and only evil for the evil, when that is simply not the way things are-- nor would we really want that to be! IV. "Answering" the Question A. Nevertheless, why do bad things happen to good people? B. The Bible provides an "answer" to the question in two places C. The book of Job 1. Job, a righteous man, loses all possessions, stricken with plague (Job 1-2) 2. Converses with friends; holds to his integrity, belief that he has not done wrong; friends convinced that he must have sinned since he has been stricken (Job 3-31) 3. God comes and "answers," asking Job how the universe operates, demonstrating that God has superior knowledge and understanding than man (Job 38-41) D. Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 1. Preacher speaks of a "vanity," or some "emptiness," that takes place: bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people 2. The conclusion of the matter? Man cannot find out God's work (Ecclesiastes 8:17) E. The "answer" to the question, therefore, is that we cannot know the answer, but are to trust and believe that God understands and knows! 1. Deuteronomy 29:29, Isaiah 55:8-9 2. God has knowledge and insight into many things that we humans simply cannot understand in our finiteness 3. Why bad things happen to good people is one such matter F. What, then, are we to do? 1. We could agonize over the question, throw up our hands in despair, deny that there is a God or any real force for good in the universe, or some other such thing 2. Is that really wise? According to the Preacher, this all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 8:14) 3. It is a "vanity" because it is something empty-- we will never really be satisfied with any answer or no answer; to pursue the question is to "strive after wind" 4. But what would God have us to do? G. Can we trust in God? 1. Can we accept the fact that we cannot understand why it is that bad things happen to good people? 2. If we can accept that, can we trust that there is a God, the Creator of the universe, who understands, as Job did (Job 42:1-6)? 3. Can we understand and recognize that God wants to bless us, strengthen us, and help us be better conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29-39)? 4. Can we reach the point of blessing the name of the LORD whether we receive blessing or adversity (Job 2:10)? H. The End of the Matter 1. While we may not understand why bad things happen to good people, God provides many promises regarding the end of all these matters 2. A day of judgment is coming, a day of ultimate satisfaction-- the righteous will be saved, the wicked condemned (Acts 17:30-31, Romans 2:5-10) 3. God has promised that for those who love Him, all things work together for the good (Romans 8:28) 4. No matter how badly God's people suffer, God promises that the glory that awaits in eternity cannot be compared to that suffering (Romans 8:18, Revelation 21:1-22:6) 5. Can we trust that what God has said is true? V. Conclusion A. Why do bad things happen to good people? 1. We cannot know, but we can trust that God does, and He is in control 2. Much of the difficulty surrounding this question is our own implicit expectations, and those expectations do not really correlate with reality, and we would not want them to, since no conscious human is really "good"! 3. No one is inherently promised good or evil in life! B. Perspective change: finding the good in all things 1. Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:8 2. Are we believers in God through Jesus Christ? 3. If so, do we believe that all things work out for the good in the end, leading to our salvation? 4. If that is the case, can we find the benefits of suffering-- spiritual growth experienced, faith tested, and the like (James 1:2-5, 1 Peter 1:6-7)? 5. Can we accept that we will only obtain our eternal inheritance through suffering (Acts 14:22, Romans 8:17)? 6. In the end, if we are constant recipients of bad things, even to death, but it all leads to our salvation and eternity with the Lord, is it worth it (Romans 8:18)? C. Can we trust God and His lovingkindness toward us no matter what? D. Let us endeavor to bless the name of God no matter what may come! E. Invitation/songbook