Why do bad things happen to good people?

Answer 1

I am not one of those who automatically refer to the Bible to answer every question. That said, in this particular instance I just can't resist. Read the book of Job when you have the time and inclination. (And I literally mean 'when you have the time,' because depending on the translation you have on hand, it can be a loooooong read, particularly the conversations between Job and his friends.) You really don't have to be a Christian to appreciate the story of Job; it's the classic story about truly bad things happening to a good person -- and more importantly, why these things were 'allowed' to happen.

Answer 2

Actually there is a book with that title, but I have not read it.

The answer is that “it rains on the just and the unjust”. Things just happen. Now I want to address one thing that you might see come up in this discussion. God does not ‘allow’ bad things to happen for some mysterious ‘purpose’. Things happen, period. Sometimes well meaning people will try to comfort someone by saying that it was “God’s will”. That is BS. God’s will is always good. What happens that people get confused about is that sometimes when something really bad happens and the person to whom it happens prays and turns it over, God will come into that situation and bring about a greater good. Then people see the good that came about and think that because something good came of it all that the whole chain of events was God’s will. But remember, God’s will for you is always something good. He doesn’t give us the garbage in our life. Much of what happens to us happens as a result of our own free will or someone else’s. What God does is to try, like a loving parent, to kiss it and make it better. He can’t stop other people from hurting us, or from the stupid mistakes we make ourselves. He can only come in after the fact and try to make it better.

Answer 3

Because good people are people, and people are alive. To be alive means to have to die. To be alive means that things can hurt or threaten you.

Your question suggests that you continue trying to believe that we have a protector (God, perhaps?) who loves us and therefor would never allow us to suffer. That's certainly not the God of the Holy Bible in the first place. I hate to sound harsh, but simply wanting to feel good about life doesn't make you immune to life's agonies. Consider what would happen if there was no God. (Don't slam your mind shut! All I'm asking for is that you try.) Then life would depend on death, since every time something eats, something dies. Suffering would often preceed death. Human beings would be part of the food chain. And bad things would happen to good people.

Just like now.

Not that you shouldn't try to be the best person you can become: Offer help to those in need. Learn all you can about what interests you, because knowledge really is power. Form your own philosophy: None of the major religions are without contradiction--and the truth never contradicts itself. Never allow others to tell you what to believe. We're all born, and we all die. The in-between holds many trials of character, and heart-wrenching sadness. Yet it also holds wonder, joy, and love. Good or bad are merely perceptions; you can't please everyone, and those you've not pleased might label you as a "bad person." Everyone else might think you're the best thing since sliced bread. Either way, you'll have what you consider both good and bad things happen to you.

Answer 4

There could be various reasons. Perhaps the good person was bad in a previous life and is here to experience what it's like to be on the receiving end. How a person chooses to handle the bad thingss that happen to them is what forges steel. Will they react with impotence, fear, anger, disrespect, impatience and resentment? Or will they react by taking positive action, and show love, understanding, respect, caring, compassion and patience? To learn to handle life's negatives with a positive reaction is beneficial to the soul, and breaks the karmic pattern.

There are many good books that can enlighten you. Try reading books by Paramahansa Yogananda. Or read the New Testament. Search Amazon.com for books on karma. Don't let basic Christian beliefs stop you from exploring other philosophies. Many philosophies do not contradict Christianity and in fact are often complimentary to Christian teachings. Have fun exploring.

Answer 5

We will not get any provable explanation for this and that is why the "Karma" theory has found very wide acceptance.

By that logic, the Not-so-Pleasant explanation seems to be that in an earler birth , the very same people have not been very good at times and have accumulated certain "reactions " which reactions are the bad things that you are talking about.

But the silver lining in the whole thing and the morale booster is the fact successive births are always for the better, so called self purifying. By that logic these good people of today will have better lives, morrow.

Unacceptable may be , but unescapable.

Answer 6

Bad things do happen to good people, but not just them. Bad things happen to everybody, good or bad. Good happen to good people more often than bad. Bad people have bad things happen to them way more often than good things. If you're a bad person in jail or prison, and somebody stabs you, is that not a bad thing. We have more bad things happen to everybody than you may think. Sometimes bad things happen to people, and it is so over whelming it seem like bad things only happen to them or people like them. People are going to have bad things happen to them no matter what. Nobody is less likely to have something bad happen to them than anyone else. The circumstances are all that separate what happens to one person or the other. Your outlook is being blurred. Try not to thing negatively about terms of good or bad. Things happen to people no matter what they do. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's not. You just have to look past the bad and good and try to think in terms of what you want to happen. Instead of what has or could happen.

Answer 7

For the same reason good things happen to bad people:

Life is a messed up state. Some people get diseases and bad things happen to them, whether good or bad. Life sucks sometimes.

That's why God sent Jesus to die for us. The promise when you believe in Him is that you will get eternal life and life will not be like this in the next one.

Answer 8

Neither Bad nor Good things happen to people. Simply things happen. And they happen to happen to people. The reason is because people can experience and communicate thier experiences. Once you will see that good people are good and bad and that bad people are bad and good and that good and bad things happen to good and bad people you will see that no one is good or bad and that what has happened is neither good nor bad.

Answer 9

To strengthen you. If only good things happened 99% of the time, the one time something bad happens, you wouldn't be able to handle it. Bad things also make good things much more enjoyable, so keep your head up.

Answer 10

Because good people don't Love. When good people evolve beyond good/bad and into Love, only Love will happen to you!

Good and bad are synonymous.

An Absolute: If you see through the eyes of opposites, then your actions and experiences will pendulate between the opposites. Evil people pollute water; good people purify the evilly polluted water. Only Love 'prevents' polluting the water!

Start living in Love. Stop seeking to be Loved. Become a Loving person instead of a good/bad person. Then you will experience what I experience, only Love!