Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to “Good” People?

My wife and I have endured some pain.  One of the things that we face is infertility.  Month after month we have dreaded the arrival of the proof that we are not pregnant again.  My father died at 56.  56 may not seem a young age to die to someone who may have lost a child, but my father’s death was unexpected.  My Uncle has just heard that he has months to live.  He is in his seventies, but he is the fittest person I know.  He was running, abseiling (rappelling), and canoeing just months ago. Why would God allow these things to happen?

When pain and suffering happen on the other side of the globe, we can send $5 and stop worrying about it.  When we endure our own pain and suffering we reel, we squirm, we shout at people, ourselves – at God.  The main assumption that we make is that we are good people and we do not deserve this.  If we have kept the rules and paid our dues, why are our lives not longer, happier, and more fulfilled than some dope-smoking, crack-addicted prostitute?

A number of responses come to mind. 

                Firstly, the question “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” makes  most sense if God exists.  Why are people asking about good and bad if a standard for good does not exist?  If there is no God to define a moral code, there is no good and evil as we express them.  The only way that evil can be defined with satisfaction is if it is a departure from good.  God defines good.

Secondly, we may obtain life’s greatest reward through horrific or trying circumstances.  Take Job for example.  He tried to make sense of his unspeakable suffering, but in the end he met with God which was precious to him.  Health and wealth preachers frequently quote Psalm 37:4, “Delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  We tend to launch into the second half of that verse.  We tally all of our desires and then we come to God for credit.  However, the condition rests on delighting in the LORD.  If the LORD is the apple of your eye, the core of your existence, your foundation for life, then you will receive more of the LORD.  Sometimes God removes distractions that we love.  A Severe Mercy is a good book to read about this.  Vanauken ultimately sees that having his wife taken from him early in their marriage was a ‘severe mercy’.

That brings us to a third issue.  A rich young ruler ran up to Jesus in the Bible and called him Good Teacher (Luke 18:18-30).  Jesus then asked why the man called him good when only God is good.  At another point Jesus is talking to a regular group of Jewish people and calls them evil (Matthew 7:11).  If Jesus is right, and I believe he is, a better question than the one we started with would be “Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?”  Our sin should be the cause of worse things than we endure.  This question doesn’t bother us quite so much because we love receiving the good that God lavishes on us every day.  However, let’s remember that if everyone got what they deserved it would be excruciating crucifixion for everyone.

Lastly, we devalue suffering.  In our comfort driven society we are unconcerned that we might be moving toward the failed Utopia of Wall-E.  In Wall-E humans become sedentary, fast-food eating, entertainment saturated consumers drifting aimlessly in outer space.  However, Father Sears of Loyola has spent time reading through the Bible investigating the connection between spiritual growth and suffering.   He comes up with some good ideas.  More immature Christians fear suffering because they associate it with punishment.  They ignore that perfect love casts out that kind of fear.  Jesus has taken the punishment.  Beyond punishment is discipline.  Although it doesn’t seem much more pleasant than punishment it has purpose.  The Bible tells us that trials develop character. 

Jesus Christ’s crucifixion is the ultimate example of a purpose in suffering.  He entered suffering for the sake of others.  Entering into hardship for others’ sakes led my family to foster a child.  This is why my wife and I took in her parents who were aging and both had cerebral palsy.   We knew that entering into the bad things voluntarily would redeem those lost in them.

I still balk at suffering.  I want to relax.  I want to eat nachos, entertain myself, and attend a comfortable church.  The Kingdom of God that Jesus calls me to has wounded healers, pierced hearts, and broken bodies.  If we wait patiently for God he will grant us insight (Psalm 40; James 1).  Even if in the end it is the ability just to accept that he is God and only he is good.