Good News from the Stony Creek Church of Christ

Why do bad things happen to good people?

By MAX DAWSON
Guest Columnist

Editor’s note: This month’s column from Stony Creek Church is by Max Dawson, who currently lives in Beaumont, Texas. He lived and preached in Noblesville for many years in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

It is something that has plagued both the wise man and the fool, the educated and the ignorant, paupers and kings: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

It is probably a question you have had. At one time or another, almost everyone asks about why there is so much injustice in our world.

We live in a world that is filled with all kinds of wickedness and evil. A great deal of that evil comes upon good people – people who haven’t done anything to deserve what happens to them. Our minds don’t rest well when we think about the injustice and unfairness that we see around us. It’s not just that bad things happen to good people; it is also that good things happen to bad people. Justice is turned upside down.

It is something that King Solomon wrote about three thousand years ago. In Ecclesiastes 8:14, the king said: “There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.”

There are good and just men who receive what Solomon thinks ought to happen to the wicked. That is, bad things come upon them. By contrast, Solomon observes that there are wicked men who receive what ought to go to good men. He recognized that life is often unjust and unfair.

So, the problem of bad things happening to good people is not a new problem. It is as old as the Bible and something that nearly every Bible writer wrestled with at one time or another.

Is it right for us to ask questions about injustice?

Indeed, it is right! Many Bible writers asked the same questions that we may have.

Job couldn’t understand why so many bad things befell him (Job 30:26-27).

As the author of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon seemed to be constantly troubled by the injustice that he saw (Ecclesiastes 3:16).

Abraham believed it was an injustice if God destroyed the good along with the bad at Sodom. God did not condemn him for asking this. This text is more than Abraham merely asking questions. The last line of that quotation is an expression of Abraham’s confidence in God that He would do right. God is not the author of injustice.

Even the great King David wondered about injustice in our present world. In Psalm 10, David was distraught and disturbed. It appeared to him that God was just letting bad people get away with sin. He even wondered if God was hiding Himself while these evil men went about doing their dastardly deeds! The psalm, however, concludes with David expressing confidence in God, that He will indeed do justice and vindicate the oppressed (Psalm 10:14-18).

The solution to the problem of injustice

We need to trust God and think long-term.

Let us think again about the case of Asaph in Psalm 73. By looking to God’s answer, Asaph learned that the injustice was only temporary; it will not prevail long-term. And what about King David? He seemed to blame God for the injustice done to him, or at least thought that God was doing nothing to help him (Psalm 10:1-18). David was wrong in his assessment. God did hear his prayer and David eventually admitted that. The real problem was one of time. David (like us) wanted relief immediately. Think-long term!

Job’s case bears out the value of seeing the big picture. Job suffered greatly but look at the end of the matter. In Job 42:12-13, we learn that “the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters.” In His time, God took care of Job and brought him great blessing. That, of course, was the earthly outcome. But we look for more.

In eternity, all outcomes will be good for the righteous. In Revelation 6:9-10, the righteous had suffered terribly under the hand of wicked oppressors. They are pictured as “under the altar,” indicating that their lives had been sacrificed for the cause of Christ. They wondered “how long” it would be until God brought justice to them and to their cause? But Revelation 20:4 portrays those same souls as victorious. Their cause has been vindicated. Truly, the words of Revelation 14:13 have application to all those who suffer for the cause of Jesus, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” We look for that time of blessing.

Viewpoint is important. We often don’t see a thing in its true nature until we have seen it from all sides. Don’t take a short-sighted view of the bad things that happen in life. See all that happens to us in view of eternity.

We can’t answer all the questions that can be raised about bad things happening to good people. But we can answer with assurance that it is right to be a person of faith and righteousness. No matter what life brings, God ultimately takes care of His own. He will take care of you if you belong to Him.

A final text: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Visitors are welcome and valued. We meet at 15530 Herriman Blvd., Noblesville. Our phone number is (317) 219-5852. We meet for Sunday morning Bible Study at 10 a.m. and have classes for all ages. Worship begins at 11 a.m. and we have a Bible Study Wednesdays at 7 p.m. A warm welcome awaits!