Why do bad things happen to good people?

 

When we ask this question we must pay attention to our concept of justice and fairness, as this can powerfully influence the way we view supposedly bad things.

The concept of justice or equity for human beings is a cognitive construction that may not necessarily reflect the reality of life.

Albert Ellis, the famous practitioner of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), states that people tend to misinterpret what happens to them in relation to their irrational beliefs and unrealistic expectations. The idea that people “should” be rewarded for being good is a mistaken belief that can lead to feelings of injustice and hopelessness when things go wrong, or we see things happen to someone that we think are bad.

On the other hand, Albert Bandura, spokesperson for the Social Learning Theory, highlights the influence of behavioral models on people's lives. Previous experiences, social interactions, and models to which a person is exposed can influence the way they perceive and respond to negative events that happen to them.

There is a social psychologist named Philip Zimbardo who has researched the concept of the “banality of evil.” He suggests that social and situational circumstances can lead even people considered “good” to engage in negative or morally questionable behavior. Zimbardo argues that the environment and social pressures can play a crucial role in people's decisions and actions.

These are interesting statements that from a psychological perspective try to show that things as we think about them do not lead us to a destiny of disaster or taking events as tragic. The reality is that the question of why bad things happen to good people is a complex question that has also been addressed over the years by many theologians and Bible scholars. 

In the Bible, we find examples of righteous people who faced difficult and adverse situations, such as Job, who suffered devastating losses despite his integrity and faithfulness to God. In the book of Job, we see how Job questions the suffering he experiences, but is ultimately restored by the goodness and faithfulness of God.

In Matthew 5:45, Jesus teaches us that God makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. This shows us that in this fallen and sin-filled world, both the righteous and the unrighteous can experience good things and blessings but also the righteous and the unrighteous can face hardships and suffering.

But God administers things from another point of view, in Romans 8:28, we are told that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. This means that even though we don't always understand why certain bad things happen to good people, God can use those circumstances for his glory and for our spiritual growth. There are people who have things happen to them that we can classify as bad, but in the reality of God, they are not bad, because they carry a purpose of subsequent and in other cases eternal goodness and blessing.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17, the apostle Paul clarifies that our present afflictions are light and temporary and does not distance them from the reality of the believer, on the contrary, he associates them with the path to heaven. He also said that it is necessary for us to enter the kingdom. of heaven through many tribulations. Pastor John Maxwell wrote a very famous book titled "The Positive Side of Failure" in that book many cases are exposed in which people who failed after many attempts and failures achieved success. Our society sees failure and adverse circumstances as calamities or setbacks in achieving some things. But seeing how those people who went through adversity later succeed, they become drivers of triumph or inspiration for others or leave a legacy of good things.

You may be going through difficult and painful situations but it is the ideal time to turn those situations into gains, blessings, and paths of success. Perhaps we have to change our way of thinking about these experiences and begin to see adversity and failure. as divine instruments to lead us to extraordinary blessings that are prepared according to a specific plan for us.

Although we face difficulties in this life and it seems to us that life is unfair or that some are not rewarded according to their goodness, the reality is that bad things and good things will happen to everyone, the heart of the matter is that the mentality with which I face the circumstances can reverse any critical event or situation. or it can make it worse. If we see that life is unfair then it will seem to us that everything that has happened is loss, problems, and we are losers without finding any way out. An example in the Bible can be found in Joseph, he said something like this "you sold me for evil, but God converted it for the good of many" and this was very true because although Joseph went through many calamities in the end it was all a plan divine to save many people from the famine of that time and bless the life of Joseph and his family.

It is true that bad things happen to good people, but these things carry a divine plan for our redemption, glorification, and blessing.

When bad things happen to the bad guy, it is to destroy him, to stop him, or to end his streak of unprincipled success. But when bad things happen to the good, it is for his development, to position him at other levels of abundance, good, and prosperity and to bless him. The Lord promises that nothing we do or give to his work will be lost but will be multiplied by 100 x 1. The apostles sowed their lives to preach the gospel in the world, in the eyes of the people it would seem that they, being good, received bad things, but what a wrong perspective because in reality, the truth is that they achieved eternal blessings, managing to impact the world and spreading the gospel to all nations and bringing millions of souls to salvation throughout the centuries.