Why Do Bad Things Happen? (Part 2)

Yesterday I started to explain my answer to the age old question, "If God is good, why do bad things happen?" Just to review -- making judgments about whether things are "good" or "bad" is a little bit more than we can do as limited human beings.

Now you're probably still thinking, "And? What about the other stuff?"

You're right. Things that seem bad to us can end up actually being for some greater good, but what about all the rest? If God still does designate things as "bad," what about those things? Why doesn't God just put a stop to them?  God doesn't stop some bad things from happening because of freewill.

Part Two: Freewill

 

 There I am in the kitchen washing the dishes after I've prepared a meal and taught all day. I'm tired. I want for my husband to swoop in and say, "Oh sweetheart, let me do those dishes. I want to do them for you because I love you so much." This never happens, by the way.

 

All the guys out there are thinking, "Just ask him to do the dishes." I could do that, but that's not really what my heart desires. If I ask my husband to do it or tell him to do it, then he's doing it because he has to -- not because he wants to.

 

I believe God feels that same way in his relationship with all of us. Essentially, he wants our hearts. He wants us to live in a relationship with him because it is something we've chosen, not something he's made us do. In short, God has granted us freewill. He can make us do anything; he just chooses not to.

 

 

Check out the beginning of the story of Job. When you talk about bad things happening to good people, it's a book of the Bible you can't avoid. The book begins with a little chat between God and Satan.

God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him -- honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil."

Satan retorted, "So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does -- he can't lose! But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He'd curse you right to your face, that's what." (1:8-11 The Message)
 

God decides to give Satan permission to test Job's devotion. The rest of the book recounts what happens to Job -- tons of bad stuff. Yet Job never curses God. He questions God, but he never turns away. In the end, Job has proven his loyalty to God and is doubly blessed.

We're not any different. God tries our hearts to see if we really love him, not just the stuff he's provided for us. He wants to know what we'll do if he gives us a free choice. He wants our love, and he wants that love to be genuine.

So God gives us freewill, and he won't violate that. On the positive side of things, that allows us to enter into a true relationship with God and to receive his love in return. However, there's a negative side to freewill too. People are equally free to choose to do things that separate them from God, things that are evil and harmful.

We're all in this life together, so what someone else does affects us. That's just the way things are. Some people choose to do evil things, and God doesn't stop them because if he did, it would interfere with freewill. He can  protect us, provide us with his comforting presence, and see us through any situation, even death, but God doesn't change the rules. Consequently, bad things happen to good people because of someone else's choices.

I'm glad that God is consistent, divinely consistent. If I can count on him to give me freewill, even if I choose to misuse it, I can count on him to save me like he said he would. All things considered, I'm glad God keeps his word, even if  I get hurt by the actions of others sometimes.

There are lots of other issues connected to freewill, but I think you have enough information here to help you understand my point. We still haven't answered the question fully. Tomorrow we'll talk about the rest.


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