Why Good Things Happen to Bad People?

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Thorns and nets are in the way of the twisted: he who keeps watch over his soul will be far from them." Proverbs 22:5 (Bible in Basic English)

“What we reap, we sow.” But these thorns and nets are not just punitive but protective, and instructive. As Meyer wrote over a century ago in “Our Daily Homily,”

“This is due to the love of God, shown in the constitution of the world It would have been malignity indeed to have placed us in the world, without the warning signal of pain to show us where we are wrong, and to sting us when we go astray. By the pitiful mercy of our Creator, pain is the inevitable consequence of the breach of physical and moral law; thus men are shown that they are on the wrong path, and driven back in repentance and rectitude. The Greek motto said: ‘Pain is therefore gain.’”

But why do bad things happen to good people?” Meyer says we all suffer, regardless of our actions, just because we were born into a world with the accumulated evil of many generations. Is it fair for me to suffer because of what others have done in the past? If I were indeed “righteous,” I think I could argue my case that I should be allowed back in the Garden, regardless of what fruit Adam and Eve ate, or whether they got it from the serpent or Wal-Mart. But…. if I am honest with myself (I am, on occasion), I know I am far worse off than Paul, who lived such a miraculous life yet still lamented that "I die daily" becuase he failed daily (and “What I want to do, I don’t, and what I don’t want to do, I do!”).

Of course the easy answer is, “Finite creatures cannot understand an infinite Creator.” That’s no doubt true—but I don't think it is much of an answer. But others have suggested that we ask instead, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” I am, basically, an alright person. I try to be a good husband, father and son, I help the poor, I do good deeds. I don't generally rob and haven't yet murdered anyone (though when engaging in Darwinian Driving in China I've come close to it). Yet even so I fall far short of even my own standards, much less God's, and generally break half of my New Year resolutions by about noon on January 1st. But in spite of myself, more good things happen to me than I deserve.

In the end I don’t know why bad things happen to good people, but then again, I’m not sure how many really “good” people are out there. But I’m certainly thankful that good things can happen to bad people like me.
Bill Brown
www.Amoymagic.com
Check out the story behind the song "It is Well with my Soul" on Youtube.