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by Katie Erickson

I think this week’s question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is one of the most often asked questions of Christians. After all, God is a loving God, right? So why would He make bad things happen to us good people?

Well, according to the Bible, there are a few things wrong with those thoughts.

First, it is because God loves us that we experience things in our lives that we perceive as negative. Sometimes those things are because of bad choices that we’ve made, but other times they are so we can mature in our faith. Just as a loving father disciplines his children so that they learn what is right and what is wrong, so our God disciplines us so we can learn His truth and His love.

Second, and related to the first thought, is that things that we perceive as bad, are not always truly bad. For example, let’s say there is a job I really, really want. I think it would be the best thing for me and my family for a variety of reasons. But, even after interviewing and everything, I don’t get the position. I may feel like that is a really bad circumstance in my life, and wonder why I didn’t get the job even though I’m totally qualified and should have gotten it. But, a few weeks later, an even better job comes along, which I do get. Now, missing out on the first job doesn’t seem so bad! In fact, I could now see that it was God’s plan for me, so I could have an even better position. Just because we feel like a certain situation is bad, that doesn’t mean it truly is.

Third, and most importantly in answer this question, is that there are no good people. Why do bad things happen to good people? Truly good people don’t exist, so it’s really a moot question. We know from Romans 3:23 that all have sinned. We are not by nature “good.” We were all born with original sin. God is the only One who is truly good, because He is holy. We as humans all mess up; there’s no question about that. Please go check out this comic for a great explanation of our ugly sinful nature.

So yes, bad things will happen in this world because sin exists. Because we are all sinners, there are no good people. Bad things really do only happen to bad people, but we are all included in that category by our nature.

Fortunately, our holy God uses those bad things (and us bad people!) to accomplish His good and help us mature in Him. Even what we think is bad, God will use for His good purposes.