Good People and Bad Experiences

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Transcript

One of the nagging questions I think people have is this one: Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s one of the most enduring questions throughout human history. The truth is that bad things happen to everyone. It’s often difficult to understand why. Where is the fairness in this? You’ve probably thought about this yourself.

A good living person, for example, who helps his neighbour suddenly gets news that he’s got cancer with only months to live. I knew of one good living Christian lady who volunteered for her church each week, and within 3 months of her GP telling her of cancer, she was dead.

It’s such a shock and has a knock-on effect for many people, the relatives, loved ones, and friends, and we may even find ourselves searching for explanations or blaming ourselves for the circumstances we find ourselves in. It often comes without warning. Another way of saying this is, why do some people seem to have all the luck in the world, even if they don’t deserve it? Life is chaotic, unpredictable, and sometimes it hits you with challenges, not because of who you are, but because it’s part of your journey.

One of the best books I’ve ever read was by Rabbi Harold Kushner in When Bad Things Happen to Good People. It’s still worth reading. He says this we could bear nearly any pain or disappointment if we thought there was a reason behind it or a purpose to it. I think he’s correct. If we could understand the reason behind a bad experience, we could probably understand.

We can feel scared and vulnerable. Why did this happen and why me? These are natural, common questions asked by many people when faced by a sudden adverse event. What did I do to deserve this? Did I do something to cause it? Many people are inclined to wonder if they’re being punished by God for some past transgressions or to ponder if there is some intended mysterious plan or higher reason for their misfortune.

Perhaps some intended lesson in their suffering. When bad things happen to good people, it can be easy to fall into despair or to feel victimised by the unfairness of it all. Rabbi Kushner writes, we may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can always control how we respond to what happens to us.

The Bible doesn’t provide a single or a simple answer to this question. Seeing what God does in these stories can give us a perspective and comfort when we see bad things happening to good people around us. But what we read in the Bible might also make us uncomfortable sometimes.

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Especially when it comes to suffering, for example, Jesus explained to his followers that a man had been blind from birth, not because of anything he or his parents had done wrong. No, Jesus said this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him. That’s in John chapter 9.

Faith in the face of disaster

Andy Davis was a well-qualified dentist, a lecturer in university, and he was on top of his game. He’d been married to Emma for 3 years, was a committed Christian, an active churchgoer, and one day he complained to his wife about neck strain and headache. He thought nothing of it, but aged 33, he wasn’t prepared for the news. He had a massive stroke. It was in his brain stem which caused what’s known as the locked-in syndrome. His entire body shut down.

But the cognitive part of his brain was not damaged. His personality and character remained the same, but he was paralysed. He could only communicate by a series of blinks. Can you imagine the devastation to this couple, Andy and Emma, today? He now speaks either through using a computer with a mechanised voice or in language that his wife Emma can understand.

This is a remarkable development. Initially Andy could only blink and was unable to speak. And although physically handicapped, his faith in God is amazing and strong. He spent 2 years writing his story using his right thumb to control the computer, and his book is called Pressed but Not Crushed, still available, I understand.

And the story is a fantastic example of how an unfair situation was turned into good by two people who loved God and want to serve Him.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, how true it is. Bad things happen to good people, and we sometimes ask, Lord, why did this have to happen? It seems so unfair. You alone are divine. You alone have the answers to these types of questions. Help me to believe in you in faith, hanging on to every word you say in the Bible. Amen.

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