Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People - Emmy Clarke
We wonder why bad things happen to good people
Maybe they were laid off. Maybe their spouse had an affair, or they got a young cancer diagnosis. Maybe it was a miscarriage, a sick child, a car accident.
We’ve all asked this question when family, loved ones, ourselves, or even strangers on the news have experienced unfair and heartbreaking situations. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did this awful thing happen to this wonderful person?
It’s an honest question, without a satisfying answer. Bad things happen to good people everyday. Our collective lived experiences tell us that living a “good” life, whatever that means, does not promise a life of ease. Bad things happening to good people is the norm, not the exception. However, we often forget that if you’re a Christian, it’s not only normal, it’s the example.
The Best Person to Ever Live
If you believe the Christian story, you believe Jesus Christ was not only a good person, but was the best person to ever live. You also believe that the worst possible thing happened to him; he was crucified by the Roman state. You believe this was physically, spiritually, emotionally, cosmically painful. You already, at least intellectually, believe a tragic and horrifying thing happened to the best person.
You may be tempted to brush off the crucifixion (what a strange sentence) with one of two responses. 1) The crucifixion was necessary, or 2) the resurrection happened, so the crucifixion wasn’t a permanent bad thing. I’m not saying the crucifixion wasn’t necessary (it was!) or that the resurrection wasn’t the conquering of death (it was!) But before either of those truths lessen the blow of the best person to ever live being executed, consider this:
The crucifixion may have been the worst thing Jesus experienced, but was not the first or only bad thing to happen to him.
He was the best person to ever live, and
He was born poor.
His childhood was spent as a refugee.
His cousin (who he said was the greatest born of women) was beheaded by the government out of spite, in a really gross and infuriating situation.
He was deeply misunderstood by his family.
His home synagogue rejected him so strongly that they tried to stone him.
Religious leaders slandered him.
A friend betrayed him to death.
Another friend, seemingly the leader of his followers, denied even knowing him.
He endured a rigged trial based on false accusations.
And then the really horrible thing, the unthinkable thing, the crucifixion.
He may have lived a morally perfect life, but it sure wasn’t pain-free.
When God became human, his life was characterized by bad things happening to the very best person. He wasn’t exempt, and what’s crazy is he could have been. The best person who ever lived, Jesus Christ, is the only person who could have avoided suffering forever if he chose to. But he didn’t.
The Credibility of a Suffering Savior
The suffering that filled Jesus’ life is hard to swallow in a culture that avoids pain, even avoids inconvenience, at all costs. We look for gurus to follow who have gotten everything “figured out”, thinking if we just get the right systems in place, we can make our lives easy.
What then do we do with Jesus of Nazareth, the suffering that filled his perfect life, and the invitation to follow him?
Jesus was born into a poor family in an occupied land in an ancient time, so hardship was built into his life at baseline. But he suffered far beyond baseline as a result of his ministry. Jesus “being in very nature God didn’t see equality with God as something to be grasped.” (Phil. 2:6-7) I don’t think Jesus went looking for ways to suffer, but he did go looking for suffering people to serve, without fearing the inconvenience or challenges that would bring. This is the reason he came. (Matthew 20:28)
Serving people in tough situations up close has side effects.To love suffering people, Jesus had to suffer too. The best person to ever live allowed bad things to happen to him for love’s sake.
This heightens the authority of the beatitudes, doesn’t it? When Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the persecuted - he is speaking from experience. He’s counted the cost, and declares blessings still. (Matthew 5:2-12)
Freedom from Karma
Ironically, there is freedom in the knowledge that Jesus suffered despite his perfect life: it means Christians are not slaves to karma.
When something bad happens, we don’t have to wonder if we are being punished by God. It is tempting to analyze our actions, looking for how hardships could have been avoided or what we may have done to deserve them.
We may bring hardship upon ourselves through sin at times, but suffering is not a zero-sum game in which we only get what we deserve. Suffering is sadly inevitable, but gladly not always our fault. We don’t have to add insult to injury by punishing ourselves. If very bad things happened to the very best person, karma is null and void.
An Empathetic Friend
When we suffer we desperately want to be understood. We look for communities who “get it” and have “been there.” Are you poor, misunderstood, abandoned, slandered, grieving, betrayed, or physically suffering? Jesus endured it all. Christ’s suffering has ramifications greater than empathy to be sure, but it is still powerful to pause and consider the truth that Jesus Christ understands our pain. That is not a quick fix for broken hearts, nor should it be. It would be dishonest to not grieve when we’re wounded. The truth that Jesus is acquainted with grief gives us a safe friend to cry to and with, confident that he cannot be shocked and can handle our grief.
The Mysterious Great & Eternal Hope
Our sufferings range from frustrating, to painful, to truly horrifying. Bad things are bad. Jesus spent much of his ministry removing suffering from people’s lives, and one day will remove it all. And yet, in God’s mysterious mercy, not only does Jesus understand our pain, but our pain can help us more deeply know and understand Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-12) Suffering is an anticipated side effect of being human. But this side effect can bring the blessing of Jesus himself. (Philippians 3:10, 1 Peter 4:13, 1 Peter 5:10)
As it turns out, that worst thing which happened to the best person, led to the greatest event in history. The resurrection. And praise God, the resurrection offers more than relief, it offers real hope.
Without Jesus, our only hope in suffering is that the suffering may end. Jesus broadens our hope by making it possible for suffering to not only end but be redeemed. (2 Cor. 4:17)
Do you remember that temptation to dull the horror of crucifixion with the good news of the resurrection? Brushing past the deep pain of Jesus’ life and death isn’t the right response, but neither is forgetting the resurrection.
As Christians, we’ve pledged our hearts and lives to a suffering servant. We can expect suffering as part of the path of discipleship, but we can also expect resurrection and redemption of all things (Revelation 21:5). Praise God, the resurrection means there is forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God for all who believe. But furthermore, in some mysterious way, it means our suffering will also be redeemed. The resurrection lifts our eyes expectantly to Jesus in the midst of any bad thing that happens, be we good, bad, or broken people.