Ethics 10: If God Is Good, Why do Bad Things Happen? (1)

Note: For new readers, welcome! I greatly recommend you start back at the beginning of this series so that this makes sense. Just go to the search bar and type in "ethics" and all the ethics articles will pop up.

In our everyday lives, things happen. PROFOUND. More specifically, bad things happen in our lives. There are two types of "bad things" in this world: self-inflicted and uncontrolled. Even more specifically, we'll be talking about the things that happen in our lives that we have no control over and seem simply...well unfair.

I present to you one of the most commonly asked questions about God (you've probably heard it asked):

If God is good, then why do bad things happen?

"I've never heard that question in my life!" Probably. This question comes in numerous forms:

"Why would God allow natural disasters if he is all powerful?"
                        "Why is there so much hurt in the world if God is good?"
                                          "Does God care about me because he just allowed _____ to happen?"

Tragic occurrences happen. Take for example Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Take for example forest fires. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. We can't stop them. So why doesn't God?

If I were to make one big point I would want readers to take away in this entire article is that the last thing God wants is for us to be hurt. But He can help us grow through our hurts.

Over the course of this article and the next, I'll be addressing two statements in regards to this topic:

"Everything happens for a reason."

"God can bring good out of bad."

Which one is more true? Is one false? Are they both false? Are they both equally true?

Next article I will go deeper into the connection between the two and also talk a little about how we can grow through negative things that happen in our lives but for now, let's dig into the first statement.

Everything happens for a reason. Nobody can 100% positively prove that this statement is "truth" but as a Christian, I believe everything happens for a reason.

Try to think of something that happened to you (or someone else you know) be it positive or negative. Anything. Now think hard about a possible reason for your situation. Here are some examples:

1. People were created. Reason? God wanted to have a relationship with people.
2. I was born. Reason? God has a purpose for me to help grow the kingdom of God on earth.
3. Jesus was crucified. Reason? To forgive our sins so that we will be able to have an eternal relationship with God.

Ok. Those are maybe what you would call "cliché" so here are a couple personal ones:

1. I went to a summer chamber camp. Reason? To improve my musicianship.
2. I started viola at a young age. Reason? My parents noticed musical gifting.
3. My parents chose to homeschool. Reason? To give me and my siblings a strong Christian-based education.

One more thing I'd like to talk about is this idea of "cause-and-effect." It is hard for me to explain, so I'll go back to my personal examples for examples.

1. I went to summer chamber camp to improve my musicianship (cause). I improved my musicianship, and also met good Christian friends (effect).
2. I started viola at a young age because my parents noticed musical gifting (cause). I have studied viola for 8 years, love music-writing, teaching, performing-shared my gifts with many people, and served others with music (effect).
3. My parents chose to homeschool to give me and my siblings a strong Christian-based education (cause). I grew up in a Christian environment, had help from my parents, been with my family frequently, started music, and started making a difference in several ways (effect).

I think you get the idea. And if you don't, then all you have to do is think a little more and just make it a point to keep trying.

Aaaand as always, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time for part two!
~Caleb