My title today is a slight deviation from that of a bestselling book, originally published over 40 years ago – “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” It made quite a splash in the spiritual world, with many people saying it was one of the best books ever written on how to deal with the difficult trials we face in this life. Even today it has over 3,000 Amazon reviews with an average rating of 4.6. Clearly the topic and the author’s handling of this age-old question touched people deeply.
Full disclosure – I have not read the book, but I have a general idea of how the topic was handled based on various reviews I did read. None of that will affect what I want to share with you today. But I’m quite sure that my path to a conclusion will be much different from that of the author of this book. I believe, however, that my conclusion will ultimately be more satisfying – at least that is my hope and prayer.
Despite the thousands who have read this book and found some answers within it, I know that question is often at the forefront of people’s minds, especially after they’ve been dealt a devastating blow in their lives. If you’ve suffered through any difficulty in your life, it’s likely you’ve asked some variation of this question.
So I want to look at the definitions of two basic words in our titles – good and bad. I want to see what the Bible says about them – which we know will be markedly different from Webster’s basic dictionary definitions.
Let’s define “good” first – as it applies to “good people.” We all want to think we are in that group. We’re decent people; we likely haven’t committed any felonies; we give money, and occasionally our time, to good causes; we pay any taxes due. The general population would consider us “good people.”
What does the Bible say about that? Here are some select scripture texts addressing that question.
- “None is righteous, no, not one; No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Romans 3:10-12 (ESV)
- “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
- “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;” Isaiah 53:6a (ESV)
- “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’’ Mark 10:18 (ESV)
I’ll stop now before it gets too depressing for everyone! The bottom line is that our human/sin nature will always be in conflict with what God wants for us. It’s his Holy Spirit that continues to work in us to make us more Christ-like. And ultimately, Jesus’ death on the cross covers every single bad deed, thought or intention on our parts. Our “goodness” will never get us one step closer to eternity with God. If it could, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die for those sins.
So, that’s the first half of this equation. Now let’s take a look at what the Bible says about “bad things.” This part will be tough for me. But not for the reason you may think. Not because “bad things” have befallen me since Dale’s death.
Oh sure, it often feels like that. But the tough part will be narrowing down the scripture to just a handful that speak into God’s reason for trials. Here’s just a sampling of my favorites:
- “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 (ESV)
- “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18 (ESV)
- “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (ESV)
- “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-3 (ESV)
Those feel better than our first list, don’t they!?
That’s the scriptural support for our “good” and “bad” definitions.
To close out, I want to give you my personal observations and painful experiences with what my own trials have helped me realize about God. And what I would never have gained without them.
We go through trials because:
- God wants to develop a closer relationship with us.
- God wants to cultivate a sincere compassion for others in our hearts.
- God wants to use us to bring comfort to other sufferers.
- God wants to bring some purpose to our pain.
- God wants us to experience first-hand how he can give us joy despite our heartache.
- God wants us to know what complete reliance on him looks and feels like.
- God wants us to long even more deeply for the perfection of heaven.
Space doesn’t allow me to go on and on about this. But, if you’ve experienced your own deep pain through any kind of loss, I hope you could add your own bullet points to that list.
So my “book” summary is pretty simple. God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to good people. We will ALL deal with loss in this life because this is a fallen world. What we did or didn’t do in this life doesn’t affect that. But God, through his incredible love for us, has accomplished two vitally important things.
- He sent Jesus to die for our sins so, in his eyes, we would be righteous – a fancy word for good.
- He uses every single heartache and ounce of pain to accomplish something greater in us and for his kingdom.
I can’t argue with that plan! How about you? May God give you the wisdom to see his love and kindness through this.
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