Bad Things Happen to Good People
By
Susan Klein
“He causes His sun
to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous.”
Matthew
5:45 (NIV)
In a perfect world, little children wouldn’t get caught in the
crossfire of feuding gang members, fathers wouldn’t be ripped from their
families due to the ravages of war, and people wouldn’t die of cancer. In a
perfect world, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes wouldn’t destroy homes and
schools and whole towns. In a perfect world.
The world was
perfect once. In the beginning. But, things changed. Actually, only one thing
changed the perfect world. Sin. Sin changed everything. By one man, sin entered
the world (Romans 5:15). Once sin became part of the equation, perfection was
gone. Murder, disease, natural disasters…everything bad came about as a result
of sin. And, just as we are not immune to sin, we are not immune to bad things
happening in our lives.
But, one might ask, “What about good people who have bad
things happen to them, not as a direct consequence of their own sin? What about
the person born with a congenital defect, or the mother and child who die in an
unforeseeable accident?” Scripture is full of similar accounts. King Solomon
said in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will
be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (NIV) He also goes on in
chapter 8 to say, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it,” and “whoever splits
logs may be endangered by them.” In other words, “Bad things can and do happen
to good people.”
Consider Joseph in the Old Testament. He didn’t do anything to
deserve being sold by his brothers. He didn’t sin, even when Potiphar’s wife
accused him of wrongdoing and had him unjustly thrown in prison. What he did do, however, was acknowledge that
what man meant for harm, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20). God is good, and
what He does is good (Psalm 119:68). We can’t possibly understand all the
“why’s” of God’s actions, but we can accept the truth that He is good, and does
good, even through some very-hard-to-accept circumstances in our lives.
Just like we do today, the prophet Habakkuk questioned God as
to why He would tolerate wrongdoing and allow bad things to happen. God’s
response? “I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,
even if you were told.” God is good, and He does good.
Would you believe that He is working out His good in your bad
circumstances, even if He told you?
GOING DEEPER:
1.
What injustices cause you to struggle with God’s “goodness”?
2. Consider meditating on and memorizing Psalm
119:68.
FURTHER READING:
Susan is married to
Mark, and has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing,
and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of the Peace Team at
Oakwood.
