You have heard the question, or even thought it yourself: why do bad things happen to good people? Before we get there, let’s answer two other questions.
- Why do good things happen to good people?
- Why do bad things happen to bad people?
The answer to these questions starts to reveal what we believe about justice in the world. Should our outcomes be a direct consequence of our actions? If we do good, we should receive a good reward. If we do bad, we should be punished. This is the foundation for the law “an eye for an eye“.
Theoretically, we like a world that runs on the rules that our outcomes are directly and solely impacted by our actions. But do we like that under all circumstances?
This is the world in which every lie, every mistake, every unjust action is caught and punished. Do you want to live in that world? You may like it when you are the one who has been wronged, but it’s doubtful that you would like it when you are the offender.
Let’s return to the original question: why do bad things happen to good people? If we allow for free will, then people can do bad things, and those bad things can be done to other people. Therefore, a bad thing can happen to a good person because someone chose to do so as a consequence of free will.
Which brings us to the fourth and final question: why do good things happen to bad people? This is the most perplexing of them all. Why would that ever be allowed? This question opens the door to grace, mercy and forgiveness. And you want to live in a world where those are allowed. Paul puts it this way:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.