WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? AND WHY IS THIS WORLD GETTING WORSE?
‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ That is one of the more common themes used to disprove the existence of God. ‘If he loves us so much, then why did this happen?’.
One of the most common, unsatisfying and yet true rebuttal’s to this statement is that God Is all knowing and circumstances may be part of his plan. Since we think in a linear fashion when it comes to time, it is impossible to for us to see how events will change our lives unless we can see the beginning and the end simultaneously. Another key factor is: how do we respond to adversity? Many psychiatrists, success coaches and celebrities attribute part of their ‘plan to change your life’ to hard work and consistently thinking positive and envisioning your success. Is that plan of action really that much different than having faith in things unforeseen?
”Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
-Hebrews 11:1
Many Christians even have theories as it relates to bad things happening when it comes to the passing of loved ones: it could be a reminder that life is precious; it could be that God wanted to secure their salvation and save them from future suffering, or it happened so that people could be brought closer together and made stronger. The list goes on.
But there is more to it than that….a cosmic conflict if you will that is often misunderstood.
We’ll start with trials we all face in life, and then we’ll touch on the more heinous acts that occur due to nature or man. The first thing you must realize when it comes to trials is that it is the most effective way to learn, grow, adapt and develop as a person. Our wisdom is often the sum of what we’ve learned, our experiences, our failures and our trials. More importantly, it is the only way to test and strengthen your faith:
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Romans 5:3-4
The trials you undergo are a test to manifest your faith or lack thereof in God:
Job was blessed by God for his faith; Job 1:10
Satan believed that he only followed/had faith in God because of what he received from God, but that he would surely turn against him if he didn’t have his way; Job 1:11
Satan was allowed to test Job’s faith in God; Job 1:12
But why is Satan allowed to test us anyway? And why is he allowed to turn this world in to a melting pot of evil acts committed by man and natural disasters that take the lives of so many? Unfortunately we handed over control of this world to Satan during the fall of man. Man was originally granted dominion over this earth (Genesis 1:26), which is why despite our genetic inferiority (lack of tolerance to certain climates without clothing, inability to defend ourselves against many land animals) we are granted the ability to subdue the earth and its animals.
The devil is actually the prince of this world (John 12:31) and the driving force behind the thoughts, drives and desires of the modern world, the Bible refers to him as ‘the god of this age’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan does not hide in hell, he walks this earth. (Job 1:7, Job 2:2, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9-12). The reason so many of us allow him to be the driving force behind our decision making is because we succumb to temptation and are slaves to sin without God (Romans 6:6, Romans 6:17). Why does Satan do all of this? Because he once desired to be like God (Isaiah 14:13-14) and hurting us Is his way of getting back at God and proving him wrong (Job 1:11).
Naturally the next question people will ask is: if there is a God, why not just wipe out Satan, or never create him at all? Our God gives us the freedom to choose, not creating Satan although he knew what would happen is something removes that freedom. God would instead be creating obedient robots as opposed to living things. He couldn’t simply wipe out those who disagree with him because that would incite fear. In the end, we are the jury bearing witness to the devils wrong doing and will be responsible for his end, find out more in the article: How fair is God’s judgement.
In the end, despite the answers the Bible may have for us, there will remain mysteries and unsolved questions in this life that God has promised he will answer for us. As humans we could argue back and forth forever, but in the end, God is the judge and he will answer all of life’s mysteries (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).
