Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s a question we ask a lot… maybe now more than ever. Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? Or have you wondered why good things happen to bad people? I know you have, because this is a question people have always been asking.

Think of stories like The Great Gatsby, where Daisy’s husband Tom is this terrible guy who good things always happen to. He has a mistress in the city and he still ends up with Daisy in the end. Or what about shows like Friends, and the time when Ross and Rachel were on a break and, depending on whose side you’re on, Ross cheats on Rachel with the girl at the copy store. And every time I watch it I think, “Rachel is such a good person why would he do that to her?” 

We are always asking why good things happen to bad people or why bad things happen to good people. 

There’s a group of people who come to mind that thought this exact same thing, the Israelites. We hear about the Israelites a lot in the Bible - they were God’s chosen people. And the Old Testament is full of stories about all the difficulties they faced even as God’s chosen people. In about 720 B.C. the Assyrians took over Israel and forced the people into exile. These people were scattered all over, their temple was destroyed, and I’m sure they thought that God had forgotten them.

Finally, years later when the Persians took over rule of Israel, those who were exiled were allowed to return and build their temple again. But not everyone wanted to return, and those who did found an impoverished land and were left with the task of rebuilding a temple.

So, as I’m sure you can imagine, people were beginning to question God and the purpose for following God’s law. The book of Malachi gives us a glimpse into this struggle.
Malachi is the final prophetic book in the Old Testament. He was a rather confrontational prophet, telling the Israelites exactly what they said against God and what God has to say in response. In Malachi 3:13-16, the prophet is addressing the Israelites who were speaking against God.

           

 “Your words against Me are harsh,” says the Lord.  Yet you ask: “What have we spoken against You?”  You have said: “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? So now we consider the arrogant to be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape.”

So here is another great example of people asking why good things happen to bad people. The people who are wicked and testing God are prospering. And the Israelites are thinking, “People who don’t follow the law and are wicked seem to be doing fine, so why should I even bother?” 

Have you ever thought something like that? Maybe not that exact thought, but I know I’ve thought things similar. Sometimes I think, “Why should I bother praying, it’s not like God will hear me. Or it’s not like God will care.” Or, “Why should I love my neighbor, it’s not like any of them love me?” Or “Why should I trust God during a crisis? Other people aren’t trusting God and they seem to be doing ok.”

The Israelites in Malachi were worrying about the same kind of things. But what if, instead of questioning The Lord, we respected him and trusted in his plans. You see, a few of the Israelites still believed in the power of the Lord and honored him, and we learn that because of this they were blessed. Check out verses 16-18.

“At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name.  “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

Now the bible is full of reassurances that God will hear us. 

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me" Micah 7:7.

“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether" Psalm 139:4.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” 1 John 5:14.

But what Malachi says is a little different; he says that the Lord took notice and listened. The Hebrew verb used here means, “to incline to listen” or “to give attention and listen.” This is the only time this word is used in this particular form in all the Old Testament. So this story in Malachi is our only way to know how to have God lean in to hear what we have to say!

We learn what to do from this same section in Malachi. The first thing we need to do is to fear the Lord. This is an older way of saying to revere, or respect, or honor God. The second thing we need to do is to spend time in conversation with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

God will always hear our prayers, even when we feel like nothing good is coming our way. But it is in those moments of pure, holy, reverent conversation about and with God that God is leaning in and giving his full attention to what is said. And it is those who love God that God will have compassion on. 

So when you are having your worst day and thinking why could all these bad things happen to someone good like me, be like the Israelites who feared the Lord, because they are the ones who God took compassion on and remembered.

Elizabeth-Anne Lovell is an
Associate Pastor at 
Generations of Grace 
in Lebanon, TN