Recently, I was asked a tough question by my daughter's friend, who is like a child of my own. I have known this girl for about 10 years now, and have watched her grow and mature, seeking her purpose in life, while always wondering about God's will for her as well. We were driving to lunch, singing to the tunes on the radio and acting silly, and out of the blue she asked me why I thought bad things happened to good people. It's really an age old question...one that is asked by all people, whether they be teens beginning to discover the conundrums of adulthood, or by senior citizens reflecting back upon a lifetime of tangled webs. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
I thought about it a minute and my first inclination was to make some type of lame joke or deflect the question with a quick-fix, glib answer, and get back to singing songs and having fun. But then it occurred to me that this girl must be struggling with something and she needed some type of answer. I felt honored that she would seek my opinion on the matter, and a burden to do my best to answer in a helpful way. So I went from singing fake opera, to murmuring a quick prayer, and offered her an answer she could think and pray about.
"Well", I began, "does God really let bad things happen to good people?" I mean, we can agree there is bad in the world, it is called sin. We know that there is sin in the world because man made the decision long ago to disobey God, and as a result of sin, bad things happen. But are there really good people? Sure we like to think we are good, that basically people have a bent toward goodness. We know that people like to think that because they haven't committed some horrible act like rape or robbery, abortion or adultery, that if they follow all the rules, for the most part, and aren't finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, that they are good. In fact, people like to put more qualifications on goodness...if they help the poor, feed the homeless, practice some kind of spirituality, do a good deed now and then, or go on a mission trip...then they should never have to suffer illness, tragedy, and even to some extent, death before a certain age (funny how that age gets farther and farther out the older they get, too). To our way of thinking, that sounds fair.
However, a sin is a sin is a sin. In God's eyes, someone's white lie, is no worse than someone else's murder, someone's drug addiction, someone's defiance, or someone else's gossip; the list is endless. Actually, to the one True, Holy, and Perfect God, all of those sins are equally egregious and they all stem from the one and only sin that He cannot and will not tolerate. This sin is so evil, that we learn in Isaiah 14:12-18, that it was the cause for the removal of God's best angel, Lucifer, from his heavenly realm. Lucifer or Satan, was known as the highest, most beautiful, and wisest angel, the Star of the Morning, who became so enthralled with himself that he began his plot to place his throne above God's and to become god. Satan's sin, "the sin", is the sin of pride.
Yes, I believe all sins can be traced back to that of pride. Pride is defined in the dictionary as "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing or conduct." God's definition of pride is the act of putting ourselves, our comfort, our desires, our importance above Him. In essence it is idolatry, because we are making ourselves the god of our life, instead of Him. It's our will be done, not His. In our desire to hold on to our high opinion of ourselves, we commit many sins, large and small, and we commit them often. Sins that, we rationalize as necessary and for the most part, consider inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
"So", I offered, "if we all are sinners as defined by God, then the question becomes, are there really good people that bad things happen to?" Ouch, that kind of stings, when you really think about it. I mean, we really don't like to think that harshly of ourselves. My point then is that sin causes terrible consequences to befall us. Whether it is a consequence of our own sinful action, or collateral damage from the sins of those around us, it causes pain and suffering. It even causes sickness, because our bodies are deteriorating and affected by the collective sins of modern man. Those sins that have created havoc with nature and our environment and have introduced disease and dilemma into our lives.
Do I think God targets good people with bad things? Absolutely not! Does God allow sin to take its course in the lives of people. Yes! But does sin have the final victory if we have put our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus? No! By confessing our sins and giving our lives over to the will of God, we have presented our blame to Him, acknowledged our failings, and allowed God to enact His plan for those bad things, and work them out for good. This He promises in Romans 8:28, which says, "we know in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose". And if we take notice, usually in hindsight, we can see that some form of good can be found. Moreover, we will likely find that our character has been refined and made stronger through the ordeal. In the end, the "good" may not take the form we, in our limited perspective would choose, but it is the wisest and best from an eternal perspective, because it was worked through His hands and for His purpose.
A perfect metaphor of this very concept, came to me last year, on our trip to Hawaii, during our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. The Arizona was the ship that was bombed by the Japanese, that early morning on December 7, 1941. The event that became the catalyst that pulled the United States into World War II. As we stood on deck of the of the Memorial, and as I was thinking of the entombed soldiers under my feet, with the smell of diesel fuel thick in the air.....for fuel still bleeds from that 62 year old wound....a thought occurred to me. The ship is a metaphor for a life of faith and an example of the Romans 8:28 verse. The Japanese thought they had destroyed the battleship and from all appearances that day, it seemed true. However, when the smoke cleared our soldiers pulled together, used what parts they could salvage from the ship, and began a rapid defense and plan of attack. The Japanese had not fully removed the American presence in that part of the Pacific theater and the loss of life only strengthened the resolve of our men. And after the endurance of much time and suffering, in the end, good defeated evil. The ship, while appearing lost, not only ended up saving lives then, but is now covered with living coral and a renewed purpose today. Yes, good was worked from bad and for a higher purpose.
So just as we may not understand our situation or things seem irreversibly damaged and lost, even if we still bear the scars, and even when the struggle is lengthy and seemingly endless, we must remember to remain faithful. And even if by our standards or the world's standards, we are good, and bad things happen to us, it is paramount, that we reflect not on the unfairness of our situation, but remember that we are not perfect, we are not "good" people that bad things happen to. We know this because Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We need to remember and take comfort in the fact that despite our imperfection, that God will work through our bad circumstances for His good. And upon further reflection, I will take His good over mine, any day!
I thought about it a minute and my first inclination was to make some type of lame joke or deflect the question with a quick-fix, glib answer, and get back to singing songs and having fun. But then it occurred to me that this girl must be struggling with something and she needed some type of answer. I felt honored that she would seek my opinion on the matter, and a burden to do my best to answer in a helpful way. So I went from singing fake opera, to murmuring a quick prayer, and offered her an answer she could think and pray about.
"Well", I began, "does God really let bad things happen to good people?" I mean, we can agree there is bad in the world, it is called sin. We know that there is sin in the world because man made the decision long ago to disobey God, and as a result of sin, bad things happen. But are there really good people? Sure we like to think we are good, that basically people have a bent toward goodness. We know that people like to think that because they haven't committed some horrible act like rape or robbery, abortion or adultery, that if they follow all the rules, for the most part, and aren't finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, that they are good. In fact, people like to put more qualifications on goodness...if they help the poor, feed the homeless, practice some kind of spirituality, do a good deed now and then, or go on a mission trip...then they should never have to suffer illness, tragedy, and even to some extent, death before a certain age (funny how that age gets farther and farther out the older they get, too). To our way of thinking, that sounds fair.
However, a sin is a sin is a sin. In God's eyes, someone's white lie, is no worse than someone else's murder, someone's drug addiction, someone's defiance, or someone else's gossip; the list is endless. Actually, to the one True, Holy, and Perfect God, all of those sins are equally egregious and they all stem from the one and only sin that He cannot and will not tolerate. This sin is so evil, that we learn in Isaiah 14:12-18, that it was the cause for the removal of God's best angel, Lucifer, from his heavenly realm. Lucifer or Satan, was known as the highest, most beautiful, and wisest angel, the Star of the Morning, who became so enthralled with himself that he began his plot to place his throne above God's and to become god. Satan's sin, "the sin", is the sin of pride.
Yes, I believe all sins can be traced back to that of pride. Pride is defined in the dictionary as "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing or conduct." God's definition of pride is the act of putting ourselves, our comfort, our desires, our importance above Him. In essence it is idolatry, because we are making ourselves the god of our life, instead of Him. It's our will be done, not His. In our desire to hold on to our high opinion of ourselves, we commit many sins, large and small, and we commit them often. Sins that, we rationalize as necessary and for the most part, consider inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
"So", I offered, "if we all are sinners as defined by God, then the question becomes, are there really good people that bad things happen to?" Ouch, that kind of stings, when you really think about it. I mean, we really don't like to think that harshly of ourselves. My point then is that sin causes terrible consequences to befall us. Whether it is a consequence of our own sinful action, or collateral damage from the sins of those around us, it causes pain and suffering. It even causes sickness, because our bodies are deteriorating and affected by the collective sins of modern man. Those sins that have created havoc with nature and our environment and have introduced disease and dilemma into our lives.
Do I think God targets good people with bad things? Absolutely not! Does God allow sin to take its course in the lives of people. Yes! But does sin have the final victory if we have put our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus? No! By confessing our sins and giving our lives over to the will of God, we have presented our blame to Him, acknowledged our failings, and allowed God to enact His plan for those bad things, and work them out for good. This He promises in Romans 8:28, which says, "we know in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose". And if we take notice, usually in hindsight, we can see that some form of good can be found. Moreover, we will likely find that our character has been refined and made stronger through the ordeal. In the end, the "good" may not take the form we, in our limited perspective would choose, but it is the wisest and best from an eternal perspective, because it was worked through His hands and for His purpose.
A perfect metaphor of this very concept, came to me last year, on our trip to Hawaii, during our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. The Arizona was the ship that was bombed by the Japanese, that early morning on December 7, 1941. The event that became the catalyst that pulled the United States into World War II. As we stood on deck of the of the Memorial, and as I was thinking of the entombed soldiers under my feet, with the smell of diesel fuel thick in the air.....for fuel still bleeds from that 62 year old wound....a thought occurred to me. The ship is a metaphor for a life of faith and an example of the Romans 8:28 verse. The Japanese thought they had destroyed the battleship and from all appearances that day, it seemed true. However, when the smoke cleared our soldiers pulled together, used what parts they could salvage from the ship, and began a rapid defense and plan of attack. The Japanese had not fully removed the American presence in that part of the Pacific theater and the loss of life only strengthened the resolve of our men. And after the endurance of much time and suffering, in the end, good defeated evil. The ship, while appearing lost, not only ended up saving lives then, but is now covered with living coral and a renewed purpose today. Yes, good was worked from bad and for a higher purpose.
So just as we may not understand our situation or things seem irreversibly damaged and lost, even if we still bear the scars, and even when the struggle is lengthy and seemingly endless, we must remember to remain faithful. And even if by our standards or the world's standards, we are good, and bad things happen to us, it is paramount, that we reflect not on the unfairness of our situation, but remember that we are not perfect, we are not "good" people that bad things happen to. We know this because Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We need to remember and take comfort in the fact that despite our imperfection, that God will work through our bad circumstances for His good. And upon further reflection, I will take His good over mine, any day!