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October 7, 2024

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 3:9-31

The title for this week’s blog is a common question people ask. Why do bad things happen to good people? If you are like me, you were horrified, if that is a strong enough word, to see what Hurricane Helene did to parts of the Southeast. Entire towns, parts of major highways, and homes were devastated. Gone. Power outages, people unaccounted for, deaths due to the hurricane, sadness, pain, and significant loss are words that come to mind. Why does this sort of thing happen?

I would like to apply a Christian worldview to this week’s topic. Please know that the pain people feel, the loss, and sadness won’t go away because we understand something from a Christian perspective. That would be magical thinking. Loss still hurts even though I may have God’s perspective on a matter.

Why do bad things happen to good people? The Biblical answer is that there are no good people (see Romans 3:9-31).

Genesis 3 tells us the origin of our problem; namely, sin. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment, had communion with God on a regular basis, and experienced a world without sin. We aren’t sure how long they lived in this environment before the incident of Genesis 3 occurred. Maybe they lived in the Garden of Eden for a few years before being tempted by Satan and disobeying God. Maybe they lived in the Garden of Eden for only a few days before rebelling. We simply don’t know the timeline because scripture doesn’t tell us. That’s not the point of the story. The point of the story is to tell us what went wrong with humanity and our world.

Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence prior to Genesis 3. The temptation they faced was to disobey God and eat the fruit of the tree they were commanded not to eat. The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of fruit it was, even though it is often portrayed as an apple in paintings and folklore. It probably wasn’t an apple.

The lie Satan told our parents was that God was holding out on them. God was stingy; He wanted to keep something “good” from the first couple, and they believed Satan’s lie. They ate as a result. The immediate effect was they died spiritually (i.e., they were disconnected/separated from God) (see Romans 5:12), death entered the world, and Adam and Eve were, in a sense, separated from one another. The world has never been the same; the good creation that God created was now tainted with sin (see Romans 8:20-25).

The consequences of the original couple’s sin brought spiritual death, disease, and physical death into our world. Creation also suffered the effects of humanity’s sin. It is for this reason we experience hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The truths we must cling to when we don’t know the specific reason why something happened is that God loves us (Truth #1), and this is not our permanent home (Truth #2). The ultimate demonstration of the love of God for you and me can be found in Jesus Christ dying in our place on the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NIV). The word “for” in the phrase “Christ died for us” means “in place of.” Christ’s death was a substitutionary death. Does whatever circumstance befallen us still hurt? Yes. Do we experience loss because of our circumstances? Yes. The pain and loss hurt just as much, but we can be assured God’s love for us never wavers. We know He loves us because He has already demonstrated the depth of His love by Christ’s substitutionary death. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13, NKJV). 

In some sense, the hurricane and its aftermath ought to help us see where we currently live is not our permanent home. We are but travelers passing through this land of the dying moving closer and closer to the land of the living (i.e., Heaven). As C. S. Lewis wrote, “There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else” (taken from The Problem of Pain). One day we will see the beatific vision (i.e., we will see God face to face). When we do, our eyes will behold what we have truly longed for our entire lives. I can hardly wait! 

If you are interested in reading more about what is commonly called the problem of evil, I recommend the following resources: The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis, If God, Why Evil by Norman Geisler, and Why Does God Allow Evil? Compelling Answers for Life’s Toughest Questions by Clay Jones.