Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s a question accompanying most conversations regarding the existence of God. The question of theodicy—the apologetic which addresses the existence of evil in the face of a benevolent God—is one that plagues people, sowing doubt in the hearts and minds of those trying to discern the existence of God. It makes sense from a pragmatic view. If God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, then shouldn’t God prevent atrocities? Shouldn’t God have saved my loved ones from dying? Shouldn’t God keep me from being homeless, depressed, lonely, sick, and/or the victim of violence?
But that’s not how any of this works.
We were created in the Imago Dei—the Image of God. Instilled in us was and is free will to make decisions based upon our relationship with God and with others. We don’t live a quid pro quo life in relationship with God; it isn’t transactional, “If you do this for me, I’ll do that for you.” Many times, people without belief (and, to be honest, many people with belief) resort to this type of human understanding. We tend towards the meritorious lifestyle—a life lived by earning what we have or being praised/raised up for our deeds. While this is a good lesson in capitalism, it’s a poor theology to hold. We can’t expect God to answer every prayer we have, as we don’t know the mind of God nor do we hold the power to subvert nature. God holds that power; but if God continuously subverted nature’s free will due to our desires, then nature would cease to have free will, entirely. The same is said for us.
The choices people make in life can lead to violence—someone chooses to commit a crime against their neighbor, against an organization, or any other number of instances. When we pray for peace, we are not doing so with the expectation that God will cease all violence in the world—to do so would be to take away the free will with which we were created. Instead, we pray for peace without particular expectation—we pray in hope that God will instill in us the courage to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, thereby changing hearts on the ground rather than from ‘on high’. It is within God’s power to wash violence away from the planet, but again I stress that God would be changing God’s beloved creation. We would no longer be able to make choices for ourselves, instead becoming indentured servants to a tyrannical being who created us solely to worship without question or choice. That’s not the God I serve.
The God I serve is the God of compassion and feeling. The God I serve is the one who freely gave a Son to redeem the world. The God I serve doesn’t rejoice in our hardships or cause them; but does walk with us—or carry us—through them if we have the hearts to ask. God doesn’t always cure depression, anxiety, cancer, violence, poverty, racism, hatred, or anything else in answer to our prayers. Instead, those prayers serve as a living conversation between us and God that allows for hope in otherwise hopeless situations. Our faith in God shouldn’t be based upon “What have you done for me, lately?” but rather, “Thank you for what you’ve done, already; please be with me, always.” It isn’t easy to live this lifestyle, to live into the faith of that which is not seen yet believed. If it were easy, then belief would be cheap and this life wouldn’t be necessary. We’re here to minister to each other, love one another, and try to fill the voids created by others’ disbelief through discipleship and patience. Why? Because of what comes next.
That’s what eternal life offers us—the promise of a place where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing but life everlasting. This plane is made to be lived upon in faith, hope, and love. Faith that God will make all things new; hope that joy and comfort will prevail over fear and hatred; love that surpasses all understanding, the love of God who gave Himself up on the cross in the form of Jesus Christ. When bad things happen to good people—or anyone, really—it shouldn’t be a question of whether or not God exists.
It should be a moment to rise up and claim the good news of Jesus Christ in the face of everything else. If we do that—if we can be faithful in the midst of tragedy, hold hope when all seems lost, and love even when we don’t understand ‘the other’—then we will begin to live into that created image in which we were lovingly created. And that’s all we can really ask for, because it’s all God asks of us.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+