Here are some all-too-familiar questions, “why did this happen? Why me? “What did I do to deserve this?” The question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” is perhaps a search for an answer. I don’t think any rational person would want a repeat of the bad.
Nevertheless, the same question supposes that some people are good. The question that pops up is, “what is a good person?” One psychotherapist argues that the only person who can decide whether you are a good person is you. Another psychotherapist suggests an individual honour code (compassion, charity etc.) which is essentially the same as the first psychotherapist’s conclusion.
Freud, on the one hand, wrote that humans focus on individual survival and are, therefore, inherently selfish – behaving badly because it the true nature of a human. On the other hand, psychologists such as Wegner argue that our true self is actually kind, compassionate, caring, curious and calm. Truth be told, the jury is still out.
We are left with combinations of bad things happening to inherently bad people, or bad things happening to people with some good in them or bad things happening to good people. To better understand these combinations, it may help to focus on a different part of the question, “things happen.”
Evolutionary science attempts to convince us that since the universe has no intrinsic purpose or design, meaning that life and consciousness emerged and evolved spontaneously and unguided, things, therefore, happen both randomly and due to cause and effect. Not all of this will sit well with us – a people who are generally not satisfied with randomness. We need a reason. By implication, this leaves cause and effect, with the understanding that although we feel the effect, we are not always responsible for the cause. Perhaps in a naturalistic sense, it is true.The Bible is decisive on this matter. Romans 3:10 states, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Jesus in Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 says, “No one is good.” Psalm 14:3 and 53:3 say the same thing, “No one is good.” There is a problem: sin.