Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People?

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A good friend asked me a question after I posted last week on why bad things happen to good people.  His equally legitimate question was: why do good things happen to bad people?  I’ve wondered that same question myself, too.  There have been times when I felt bitter that someone who has hurt me seems to be blessed.  It didn’t make any sense to me, and I wondered if God was truly a just and fair God. 

I’ve wondered why people who don’t seem to deserve it receive good things, so I judged them only to find that they are just as broken or hurt as I have been.  By the looks of this world’s condition, it surely doesn’t seem like God is exacting justice, but the opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings, and God is that fat lady:  He will have the last word. 

God is neither a control freak nor a tyrant, so he doesn’t control us all as if we were puppets, and—although He could—He doesn’t exercise an iron fist over everything that happens in this world. 

So, when He lets the pieces fall as they may according to the free choice He has given all of us, the natural consequences of our own often haphazard actions can add up to nonsensical results like blessings for “bad” people and suffering for the “good.”  For now, God lets the sun shine on both the good and the evil. 

However, when the end finally comes, we will each be called to answer for our words and actions here on earth.  This thought was really sobering for me because—the fact is—I have myself made many, many mistakes and said countless awful things to hurt other people.  I have given in to my carnal nature innumerable times to the detriment of myself and others. 

Hurt people hurt people.  Those who have been hurt often—though not always—often will turn around and inflict the same hurts upon innocent others.  They don’t know how to behave differently because it’s all they knew growing up; it’s all they saw; it’s the only thing they’ve experienced themselves.  This is not an excuse for bad behavior but a typical reality which can be changed by seeking God’s deep healing and guidance. 

I know that I have deeply hurt others, and they may have judged me as a “bad person.”  If they later saw me being blessed, then they probably became embittered that good things happened to a bad person.  So, I’m grateful that God blesses even those who haven’t been perfectly good, people who don’t seem to deserve it.  In His grace and compassion, God blesses all people—regardless of the caliber of their behavior because every one of us is beloved to Him.  He may not love our behaviors, but He loves us.

Whether we acknowledge His existence or not, we are each His sons and daughters, and He loves us and wants to bless us.  Even when we hurt Him, God still loves and wants to bless us all, and He has mercy on us when we seek Him out.  He is faithful to forgive when we ask, and He does not withhold all good from a person just because she or he has sinned.  He has mercy and grace.  He forgives and gives us a clean slate when we ask Him to, if we ask Him to.

That doesn’t mean God doesn’t punish bad behavior.  He does, but not cruelly.  He punishes only to the extent that’s necessary to bring us back to doing what’s good for ourselves.  He’s like a loving but firm father who guides his child back to the good road whenever the child is about to fall into the ditch.  And sometimes, knowing we won’t learn until we experience it for ourselves, He lets us experience the natural consequences of our own poor choices. 

Parents, maybe you’ve had similar experience with your children…you love them but know that they need to explore and feel like they have choices and freedom to do what they want, so you let them have that freedom but stand by to help corral them back to safety and good when you need to, right?—for their own good.

Here’s the thing…I don’t know that there are human beings who are 100% bad or 100% good.  After all, who among us can say we’ve never thought a mean thought or said something hurtful, right?–That we’ve always kept our hearts pure?  Even the “worst” people who make a lot of mistakes are usually just broken people—people who have been hurt, who are suffering inner pain, who don’t know God’s love and life-giving ways, people who make mistakes, people who sin, just like the rest of us human beings.  Most people are simply struggling with their brokenness, not people who have given themselves over to evil.  Though I often mistakenly judge others, it’s hard to say if someone is all “good” or “bad.”  Only God can judge anyone accurately since we have no way of knowing all that a person’s been through, what her or his heart is like, why he or she does what they do…

I don’t know…No one can completely know and understand fully God’s ways and thoughts because we’re just human, and He is God.  He sees past, present, and future.  He’s been there at the beginning and end of every single person’s life.  God has caught every tear.  He sees into the depths of every heart.  He knows all that we don’t know. 

What I do know from the relationship that I’ve developed with Him over the years is that God is good, and He is righteous.  I can see some of that now, in this life, on this earth through my experiences.  A lot of it I cannot see and a lot of it has still not been set right, but we can rest assured that God will make things right in the end.  He will conquer over evil; He will overcome evil with good when it’s all over.  Meanwhile—if we’ll let Him—God will be there to strengthen and encourage us and guide us through the injustices of this broken and temporary world.