Why Do Bad Things Happen To "Good" People?

It's that time of year again - when you're preparing to eat a turkey that you're not really wanting to eat because you'd rather stuff your face with apple cider (as close as I ever got to hard liquor as an 8 year old) and broccoli casserole, but you do anyhow because, well it's Thanksgiving! Turkey's died for this day! It's also a time of confusion for a lot of people. Like, do I sing a Christmas carol because 103.5 is calling themselves our station for Christmas tunes? And yesterday I saw a car at the gym with antlers. Also Christmas lights are already up around the neighborhood...but to be fair they've been up all year (Is it just me who always looks down on those people until we have to start packing away the Christmas lights or untangling those suckers when they come out? Seriously, headphones on steroids.) Just all around a confusing time.

But for quite a few people it's a time where family starts to come together, talk and laugh and play pranks that only the holidays could make possible - but then there are those select few who take these days a different way. They begin to think about things, about life. It's a tender time that only a loving season can create. A couple years before I was saved this was me - except instead of taking a step towards an answer I crept back into music, video games, porn and cheap food. I didn't want to open the hole. I used generic ideas to create a barricade from God that kept me from having to deal with him. Today I wanted to deal with one of those question/statements.

"If God is so good, why does he allow bad things to happen to good people? It's not fair. I can't love a God who would do that. It says somewhere in that thick book called the Bible that God loves me. Then why let all these things happen to me?"
That's a fallacy that needs to be addressed here and now.

So a lot of people throw out, 'God is good', 'God is love', 'God created evil' but there's a sad degradation of the English language today that we don't know a quarter of what words actually mean. Words that were used to represent a fear of God, like awesome, now are used to describe a cheap pizza or a 1900*1600 resolution. Love - the word for something that is used to describe the deepest passion that you have with someone, something that goes beyond human instinct and drives you to take a bullet for that person is now used to freely when talking about a pair of shoes. We throw words around with such ease - but remember, God used words to form this earth. What we say has the power to change lives. So when people say, 'God is good' what does that really mean?

Good is described as something that's pleasant, agreeable and of high quality. Sounds legit. I mean that all matches up with what we know of good, right? Well that's how the world defines it - but what about the Bible? If there's really a word that describes what good is it'd be this one - God.

God is holy. Righteous. That means he's praise worthy. Without blame. Morally on the right side of the coin.

See, without God humans are at a place where we can't define what, 'good' and 'bad' are. There is no absolute (I read some stuff that I want to post on here but I'll save it for another post. Freakin' intense science that gets deep into atheists trying to prove some crazy stuff). But Christians know that God is our absolute. Without a higher power there is no good and bad. There are simply actions and reactions. So we're going to assume that there is a God for the rest of this talk and we're going to say that He is our standard of what is good in life and he gives us a level to live by which jumps right into my next point (how convenient.) - what is evil? If good is God then evil is essentially the opposite of everything that God is. And those are your definitions.

Another word that goes along with God is just. He follows the rules. Christ died as a sacrifice for our sins, right? Well why didn't God just say, 'Heck, I'm the head honcho! I love you all you can just come into Heaven! No need to sacrifice m'boy for you all.' That'd defy who God is, his very nature. He sticks to the things he's set in motion. If he didn't then we'd  be able to accuse him of not sticking to his word. But you might ask,
'Why have sin in the world anyway? Just create a perfect world and let us live awesome lives!'
Funny you say that because that's exactly what he did. See, if you check out Genesis 1: 26-31 we see that God created man in his own image, a spiritual image of perfection and in the last verse, just to add a little more bang to your buck, he said it was very good (and we remember what good is). So man was without sin, a perfect world. But he also gave man the choice to make certain decisions in his life (Proverbs 16:9, Genesis 2:19-20). The decision of right and wrong (which are different from good and evil. Something can be the wrong choice but not a sin/evil. Won't go in depth on it here.) was given to Adam. He made the wrong choice which, at that moment, let sin erupt through out the earth. (If you need more clarification and how Adam was without sin but still sinned, ask in a comment and I'll go deeper) Since God is just he kept to the decision of man. There was a punishment given because of a crime committed and because of who God is we have to live out that sentence.

That's not fair!
I know...if it were fair we'd be living a life completely apart from God, burning in Hell and that'd be the end of the story. That'd be fair. We've sinned and there's a punishment to be paid for that.
It'd be God saying, 'Follow these rules but in the end you're just going to suffer and go to Hell.'
But He doesn't.
He says, 'I'll pay your debt, man. In fact not only will I catch your bill, which is more expensive then you know, but I'm building a house up here for you and I've had my son, who's a carpenter, working on it for 2000+ years. Just accept my gift and it's yours.'

That sounds like a good God to me.

But I'm not going to sugar coat it - when you become a Christian it's not like everything becomes all lollipops and Guitar Hero, there are times where we still suffer. Talk to Job (well he's kinda dead but in a figure of speech way you should talk to him). That brother had it hard BECAUSE he followed God. Satan prayed on that man to the point of taking everything except his nagging wife and he STILL couldn't break Job. All because God wanted to prove a point and to teach Job.

See, God allows (Important word to remember: allows) things to happen to us to build us up. When we have it easy all our life then why do we even need God? Sometimes He brings us to our knees so that the only place we can look is up, to remember him. That may not seem fair to someone who doesn't believe but to a Christian the best time of our life is spent on our knees. You talk to any old Christian veteran and he'll agree that he wouldn't be where he is today if not for the challenges God put in his life.

God allows it to build us up.

And when we're not one of God's children? He'll use it the exact same way, to make us see that he really is Lord and to bring it to him.

(Though that's not the only way He can make your salvation happen)

But let's say you don't agree with God and you're a hard core atheist or diest or agnostic who just doesn't care about all that - two points.

1) If you say that God is evil because he won't purge the earth of evil then I ask this - if there is no God then you set the moral standard for life and you're the only one who can do something about it so why aren't you? I'm assuming you have at least a dollar to your name? Send that to Africa! Your whole being should be devoted to fighting this evil in the world. You can't accuse God of something and turn around and not do absolutely everything in your power to fix it. That's the essence of a hypocrite.

2) If you want God to take away all evil from the world, then what does that actually mean? You want him to take away world hunger, murder, rape, abuse and war? But where do you want him to stop? Because evil doesn't just stop there. We are sinners. We've lied, stolen and cussed. If God takes away evil then he takes away your will to choose, and he eliminates who you are. Are you willing to loose your ability to think? See most things we love are sin. Do you really want God to take them away from you?

So it's not so much a question of God letting things bad things happen to good people but more, why does he allow good things to happen to bad people? None of us are really good (equal to God). We need to be thankful for the blessings he gives us now and thankful that he doesn't decide to simply, make things fair.

Anyhow, I have a ton more I'd love to post on here but if you're reading this sentence then I applaud you being able to get through it all and I won't make you suffer through any more. I think I might do a part two - on the science of it all. Anyhow, I'd appreciate a +1 off Google or a share on Facebook and you can always follow me =) It's super encouraging to get feedback of any kind! Comments or questions? Just give me a holler!

In His name,

 - Parker

The, 'Normal' Life

Oh my gosh! He's writing again! Something tragic must have happened in his life - like the death of a hamster or a tragic loss of his crops. Yeah, no. Tanjida just gave me a kick in the butt to write again =D So thanks, Tanji! You da' bess!

I've been saved for a month a day and a year and if I wanted to psych some people out I could tell them how many hours. Minutes? Brother please, let's not get crazy. But for as long as I've been saved I've always had this one question - how can I do anything but serve God?

Now before you start biting your nails and thinking, 'Oh man, this kid's a religious fanatic! Flee, flee for your lives!' Please, stay 'till the end of the next paragraph at least. 

1 Cor. 10:31 - For all that you do, do for the glory of God. 

Well I'm sitting on the toilet (not currently, and I know you were thinking I was)...how does that work out? I'm pretty sure after dropping a heavy duty, bean burrito mixture that I'm not really living up to that verses standards - as anyone downwind of my bathroom could tell you.
What about watching a show like The Walking Dead on a Sunday night, and though I'm sure God probably the idea of a zombie apocalypse (Isiah 26:19-20), the show isn't exactly umm...what are the words I'm looking for? Oh yeah, Godly and uplifting - though Hershel did pick up a Bible a few times so I'm hoping that'll counts as a few points towards me.
What about traveling without the purpose of hunting out tribal villages to share down God's word? Will I ever get to go to New Zealand to see the hobbitsis??
Heck, even reading a book like Percy Jackson! Greek mythology and fiction?? Double time waster.  

Well I remember sitting at one of the tables of this Mexican restaurant during my college groups Tuesday night men's bible study. Fresh corn chips, home made salsa and unlimited refills - and I didn't even have to pay! Normally I was pretty into our discussions but that night I wasn't really feeling it.
It had just finished down pouring on the tools I'd forgotten to cover in the back of my truck bed and I was having trouble concentrating on the lesson. I was at the point where I was supposed to pick out a career for my life. Supposed to be a big deal or something. I absolutely loved to work with my hands so the choice was pretty clear to me; get a trade!
But yet - but yet I was saved. I mean all the signs were pointing towards going into Air Conditioning. I had so many connections in that line of work, it was scientific and fun and good work with, ahem, good pay but how could I do that when the world needed preachers or full time missionaries? Look at Paul! Dude didn't even get married, just decided to write like half of the books of the New Testament and become the most successful theologian/evangelist this side of the galaxy. How could I just concentrate on my life? On getting a wife and kids and a normal job? How could I do anything but sun-up to sun-down serve God and where could a normal life fit in that? Depressing, right? That seemed worse than my 7 year old fear of heaven being 24/7 church listening to the preacher talk. 

Needless to say, and that's why I'm going to say it anyhow, I was feeling a little woozy. I imagine Alice feeling the same way at the Mad Hatter's Table - okay, I don't really get how I imagine that but it's still working for me. I'll leave you to tie in the symbolism. Anyhow It was question that everyone else had seemed to answer in their life without a problem and they all seemed happy with their choices. So what was I doing wrong? The way I saw it, you've gotta be all or nothing. Working out, you either had to run until you saw black spots or do a Netflix binge complete with unlimited cream soda and Doritos. No middle ground! Die or diet! No guts no glory! No socks no shoes! Read a book over the span of three weeks? Brother please! 46 hours straight until I'd powered through that sucker!

...God or life. There was no middle ground. Sadly that's the way I saw it. 

Thank Heavens I wasn't dumb enough to stop there! See there's this cool thing called proper application and it can screw your life over worse than having to work a weekend shift during Christmas when your favorite cousins are in from Florida, you know, the ones who actually know how to buy a good present! Apparently I wasn't using this application tool properly. There should be an app for that. 

That night after the Bible study, after I had finished bemoaning the drenching of my precious Echo weed whacker (After much rehabilitation, a through cleaning and few good meals of gasoline and 2 cycle oil I'm happy to say he's doing much better.)  I decided to ask one of my friends/mentors about it. Good choice.

So I let out my heart felt spiel, expecting to hear all the answers I'd already come to - I was going to have to devote my life to wearing beige cargo pants, a wide brimmed shade hat, some kind of Jesus shirt and be preaching to ant eaters in the wilds of some country I couldn't pronounce. His answer - the Air Conditioning world needs missionaries too. 

The heavens had opened! God's cornucopia of wisdom and amazingness had just poured down on me. Choirs of angels sang and beams of heavenly light poured down on me! Kind of - if Angels were hissing alley cats dueling over the trash and beams of light were after shower mists. 

It's pretty simple and I still had more questions on the subject but it was the start I needed.

I had a co-worker who wasn't saved. I tried to share but he was pretty much turned off to it all. Not hostile but not interested. And then things started happening. His mom, wheelchair bound and homeless mind you, began to prostitute herself. His girlfriend had just left him because of a black out rage and he hated his job. Shrinks, hypnotists, 12 step programs - he was willing to try anything for an answer. His friends could only offer him a beer and say sorry but I'd been put in a position to share with this dude and If not for being in that position I never would have had a chance to. That jumps into my next point. 

See, now look at 1 Cor. 10:31 again. In all you do, do for the glory of God. While a bathroom disaster might not please God (or any of his senses) what if I thank God while I'm on the, umm, facilites for the sewage system, the people that work it or, heck, even the water to take the sewage away. The money we have to pay for the right to use the facilities or just the fact that I can go to the bathroom on my own! 

The meaning of Glory is to give praise to someone for something and while it's pretty much impossible to plan your whole life so it will give you the maximum opportunity to praise God (though that's not a bad thing) I look at the verse like this - in whatever you find yourself doing, give the maximum amount of praise to God for it!
If you're feeling called to be a missionary then heck, go for it! That's awesome! But something I learned pretty early on, if your heart isn't in it, you shouldn't be either because, in the words of the 70's generation, you'll be giving off the wrong vibes, dude. Now that doesn't mean that when something gets uncomfortable you're allowed to run away, arms flailing and that whole deal. God sometimes calls us to do things that make us sick to our stomachs but it's still something he's called us to do.
But how to know if it's something he's called you to do? Well since God is, well, God he has his ways of making it pretty obvious what he wants us to do. Sorta like getting swallowed by a giant fish or being blinded with beams of light and having donkeys talk to you or having pillars of fire lead you across the desert and stuff - believe you me, whether he wants you to get married or preach, he gets his point across. Just saying that if we don't see God pushing us towards something and we don't want to go their our self, why go?

See life was given for us to serve (Ephesians 2:10) and when that's being done we have the freedom to enjoy ourselves. Why would God give us marriage (women could just have been built to self-fertilize) or beautiful scenery or the capacity to laugh and feel love? Because God created us in his own image (Genesis 1:27) and God loved, he cried, he created, He was angry. 

He felt and we feel. I don't need a verse to prove that to you. 

As long as we're following Christ, giving praise to him in every situation in life whether or not it's to people with bones sticking through their noses or to sweaty blue collar workers or traveling to cool places or simply watching a sick zombie show to just unwind (as much as you can on the edge of your seat) then I take my hat off to you.
We were built to give God glory, so give it to him. No matter how bad it gets there's always something to say thank you for (James 1:2) but no one says that we have to go 24/7 Bible study beast mode. If you try then believe me, you'll burn out. 

When you're pumping iron you'll reach a point to where if you don't stop you literally start to do more damage to your body than good. Muscles eat themselves, your brain can begin to shut down and you'll internally explode! Okay, maybe not the last one but the message is clear - you'll burn out. It's the same with God's word. We need a time of rest. God took a breather to show all the lame people that won't take a break that we need to seriously chill out. Now check this -  Joshua 1:8 says that the word of God should constantly be on your lips, on your mind day and night. Even though we're not at a Bible study or evangelizing, our minds should be on God, giving him thanks for this and that. It makes everything about us better. Believe me, remembering God when you're about to blow your top over your sister drinking your protein shake, it'll calm you down right quick.

So all in all it doesn't matter the occupation - fight hard when the fight is needed, work hard when there's work to be done. Serve when service is needed. Rest when the time calls for it and follow your heart and God's word.

Thanks for reading!

Any comments or questions or stuff? Just comment or question or stuff. 

Have a blessed one!

In His name, Parker.