Bad Things and Good People

A couple in my church recently had a pair of twin boys who lived for only a few short hours. In light of this sort of event, one's mind comes to the frequently asked question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Many people, unfortunately including many Christians, don't have a good answer for this extremely important question. Answers exist, however: the whole truth about this question can be found in Christianity and nowhere else.

There are different kinds of "bad things" which can happen. The kind I'm going to consider, in light of the unfortunate loss of precious children to a medical condition mentioned above, is the "accidental": Why do good people get in car accidents and get sick? Isn't God in control of the natural world?

It's important to think about what's really being asked here. We know that human beings have free will, so they have the ability to drive drunkenly or generally poorly. We also know that diseases are a part of the world, and that people get sick every day. These are common events, so it's not as though tragic events happen only to good people.

What we're really asking is: Since we know that God has the power to make things happen or not happen, and since we know He has used this power to spare people in the past, why doesn't God make exceptions for those who worship Him, or even those who appear objectively like nice people?

I once saw a study purporting to measure the effects of prayer on disease; in that case, it was considered failure if the results of those who were prayed for were the same as those who were not prayed for. The assumption was that God would (or should) heal those who were prayed for more often or faster than those who were not prayed for, that he would give special treatment to His people.

There are several reasons that God may not choose to intervene in the way we want Him to. First, if God were to intervene to spare His people pain by manipulating the physical world as often as we'd like, how long would it be before His direct intervention was more the rule than the exception?

There's very little to stop this from invalidating the very nature of man's free will: after all, the very thoughts which lead us to evil acts are formulated via chemical processes in the physical brain. Should God turn off the chemical reactions which would lead us to evil thoughts, as well?

Secondly, who's to say that a given tragic "accident" does not serve God's purpose in some grander way? Doesn't the doctor cause us pain, sometimes tremendous pain, in the name of healing us? Sometimes the doctor acts on our behalf but without our consent, for instance if we were badly injured and could not bring ourselves to the hospital. It is his job to know that we need his services, whether we know to ask for them or not, and it is his job to inflict some pain to save us. For this, we consider him good. Can we not do the same for God?

It seems reasonable to think that if, in order to heal the body, the body must be made to suffer, then in order to heal the soul the body and soul may need to suffer. The doctor's first incision is an injury itself, a wound which is harmful. However, it is necessary for the operation, and it can and will be healed fully in the end. We can consider the incision good, then, for though it is in itself bad, through it healing is brought about.

Some of our tragic accidents are likely to be "incisions": injuries which can be used to heal us; surface wounds which expose parts of us that are diseased, so that they may be healed. How could the doctor have done his work without that incision?

Finally, these accidents may come about to glorify God in some unexpected way. Job's tribulations served primarily to inform us about God's nature, and show us our proper place below Him. Job learned from the experience, but his trials seem focused on illuminating God, rather than teaching Job. As a result of his troubles, billions of people have learned important information about the nature of God.

Tragic accidents are difficult for everyone, and seem somehow unfair and undeserved when they happen to those we love, to good people. However, God is good, and He need not intervene to prevent every unfortunate event to be so. With guidance we can see why these events may occur. Rather than turning from God or blaming Him for these things, we must learn to lean on Him in our times of trial, and to learn what we can from these events.