KBM Why Do Bad Things Happen?
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Today, we are continuing our series on Apologetics by asking the question, “Why do bad things happen?”
Throughout the scriptures people have asked God why do bad things happen to good people while bad people or the unrighteous seem to prosper. The psalmist put it this way in Psalm 73:3-12…
1 Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. 7 Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. 8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return here, And waters of a full cup are drained by them. 11 And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches.
Jeremiah asked God a similar question we are asking today in Jeremiah 12:1-2.
1 Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? 2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth But far from their mind.
The reality is bad things happen to everyone, and even though it may seem like the wicked prosper more than the righteous it doesn’t mean that they do “in reality.” That is what I want us to consider for a moment today, as we answer the question of “why do bad things happen?”
Whether we are talking about persecution of the righteous, natural disasters, or simply hardships like the loss of a job, there are things that happen that make Christians and even the most faithful, as we just read, step back and beg the question “Why do bad things happen to good people” and not just the unrighteous.
The answer to this is found in both the sometimes disregarded truth about sin and the often forgotten facts of righteousness. So, let’s dive right into this question.
There is a reality that “time and chance” happen to everyone.
11 I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
In other words, a lot of the bad things that happen, especially natural disasters and the like, simply happen because of the way weather happens and it cannot be blamed on anyone or anything.
However, the majority of “bad” that happens to people is a direct result of sin being in the lives of humanity.
Take the Holocaust as an illustration of this. There is no doubt that this event, wherein millions of Jews and others died, was a horrific thing to happen. But many just chalk up what happened to Hitler being “crazy” or “something similar.” However, why this could even be considered as a possible thing to comprehend by Hitler, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others was their belief in Charles Darwin’s writings in “The Origin of Species” or as its full title demonstrates “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection: The Preservation of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life.” In this Darwin determined that higher levels of biological existence is attained as the strong eliminate the weak in the struggle for survival. Later in his book “The Descent of Man” we find this quote…
“With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigourous state of health. We civilized men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.” (Darwin 1872, 130).
Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher took what Darwin said to, what he considered to be, its logical conclusion as he longed for the “super-race” of people. This is why Nietzsche was against Christianity because it supported and took care of the weak. It was Nietzsche and Johann Fichte (who believed Germans were a superior race destined to assume leadership over the world) ideology that Adolf Hitler philosophically agreed with and thus implemented when given the opportunity.
I say all that to say that sin always is the root cause of humanity doing bad things to other humans.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Now that leads me to my second point of how many have forgotten facts concerning righteousness as well when this question is considered.
The bible has always been very clear that the righteous will be persecuted for living a righteous life in an unrighteous world.
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
This is why Jesus told everyone, in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:10-12.…
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Why do bad things happen, sometimes it is simply because “time and chance happen to everyone” but when it comes to humanities evils against other humanity it is the unfortunate reality of sin and mankind’s willingness to listen to it and live by it.
