Home

Contact Us

Affiliation

Ministries

Staff

Directions & Map

History

Beliefs

Church Covenant

Constitution

This Week

Calendar

Sermon Text

Order of Worship

Wednesday Study

Newsletter

 

  
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People




 I have had many joys in teaching and coaching and working with kids. With that I've had to accept some sorrows--some suicides, some untimely deaths of parents, some very difficult failures. I don't understand these setbacks. Good people die, good people are hurt for life, many suffer, and there is no good reason.

I could blame it on sin in the lives of those who suffer. That might seem harsh and overly religious, but it could be true. Sin has a price. This is a cause and effect world God has given us. Bad behavior has bad consequences.

I know though that there is more to it because that doesn't explain all circumstances. That doesn't explain the innocence of many who suffer. So, a second solution might be spiritual warfare. Job suffered severely and God proclaimed him as the most upright man on the face of the earth. Satan challenged God's judgement of Job,and God let Satan have his way with Job for a season of suffering, a severe test of Job's righteousness. The ironic part of that story is that Job had no idea why he was suffer knew nothing of the heavenly battle that was threatening to consume him. Job suffered for no apparent reason other than that God allowed it to happen.

Genesis 3 offers a third reason for suffering. The world is tainted; man has fallen. Fallen man means a world out of sync. Things don't happen here as they should. Genesis 2 shows us what could be. Genesis 3 shows us what is.

The plague of AIDS is an object lesson in suffering. Some suffer from AIDS because of cause and effect--their behavior is the cause. Others suffer innocently because of the fall of those whose sexual behaviour leads to the spread of this killer virus. Things are out of wack--innocent people get hurt.

Now, we can either fret about this malaise and our inability to explain why bad things happen to good people, or we can allow this to be a source of personal freedom. Freedom can come from helplessness. True freedom is a result of admitting things are beyond our control. Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, Timothy, John Mark, to name a few, were great men of God who were helpless, afraid and actually sick of handling this world. They persevered because of one belief, "My strength is made perfect in your weakness."

I love the example of Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet. Wayne who? you say. Wayne Chrebet, the receiver who caught more passes his first two years of pro ball than any other receiver in history including Jerry Rice. Wayne wasn't drafted, begged for a tryout, made the team and now leads the New York Jets in receiving even though he is the smallest, least known, and least paid pass catcher they have.

His famous and obviously jealous teammate Keyshawn Johnson criticized Wayne profusely in his recent book, and Wayne reacted this way, "Why is he so concerned about me? I'm Wayne Chrebet. Who is Wayne Chrebet?" Wayne Chrebet, at this writing, knows who he is because he knows who he isn't. Right now, he is a refreshing voice in a world of spoiled brats simply because he can say, "Who is Wayne Chrebet?"

We too can say, "Who am I?" In this world we are nobody. We can't control the causes and effects. We aren't God. However, we are His children, His somebodies--not coddled, not overprotected, not immune from problems--but his loved and cherished children who must trust Him and know that His promised kingdom will happen for us--some now and all later.




About the Author:


 Steve Graner is a Christian educator and familyman employed by the Minot, ND Public School District. A licensed laypastor, he is passionate about Christian writing and Christian drama. Along with family and friends, Steve has performed numerous self-written dramas and musicals for area church audiences.