Why do bad things happen to good people?

Question

Yes, I'm a Christian. But I don't understand this. WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE???

Drunk driver killed my little brother 3 weeks ago. Best young Christian I knew. Baptized in 4th grade, led worship in church (no voice change yet). Baby faced little blond kid, pale unblemished face, twinkly blue eyes, 13 but looks 11, captained 7th grade boys basketball team. Beautiful kid. He invited new students to sit with him during lunch and was always generous with his time and money when it came to charity. He gave 75 dollars to Hurricane Katrina fundraiser and couldn't buy something he wanted, but that was fine with him. I remember this one time when we were doing inner city missions last Christmas, and he gave his jacket and socks to this sick old lady and they prayed together and she was healed. The Bible was open on his lap in the hospital when he died.

Simon Balthazar, 7/12/94 to 12/7/07

It just doesn't seem fair. Think of all that Simon will miss out on in this life.

If it had been Hitler or Al Capone or the V-Tech guy instead, wouldn't the world be a better place? I hate to be so judgemental, but I don't understand why the innocent always suffer first.

Simon has wanted to be a missionary since he was 9 or 10. Why did God take him so early when he had such high potential?

To the first answerer, that was really insensitive and cruel.

Answer 1

I am deeply sorry for your loss, and I pray that everything will be okay. My mum's twin brother passed away a while back, and it was really hard for her, and really hard for my Oma & Opa, and everyone really. It was so unexpected, usually as death always is. Some years later my Mom said that God takes the good ones first, because he has a plan for them up in heaven. We endure the bad, and come out of it all stronger and wiser.

God bless, and RIP Simon.

Answer 2

You are too close to the situation to see it rationally. Good things and bad things are not doled out in the universe in a targeted way. It is neutral. We live, we die. Life does not come with life expectancy guarantees. In the not so distant past, many children did not live past infancy. Since the advent of antibiotics and the advancement of modern medicine people are just not as close to death as they used to be. This makes it more shocking. My cousin died in a freak drowning when he was just 15. That is the way life is, you take the good with the bad. Life isn't fair, no one would ever in all honesty tell you that it is. Life is life. It is what YOU make of it. Your brother seemed to make the most of it the way he wanted, I hope that you can do the same.

Answer 3

IT saddens my heart to hear about your little brother I know things must be very difficult for you right now it will take sometime to adjust to your grief, I will be praying for you daily. I don't understand a lot in life when I hear about the death of a loved one especially a young person I wonder at the pain God felt when his son was crucified on a cross I wonder how he feels now when he hears people mock Christ and say evil things, there was a great separation when Jesus died but He was reunited again, I don't know if this is helping you, but God does love you very much. I wish you again the very best. Your brother in Christ

Answer 4

wow...

I don't think anybody has an answer to that one - I certainly don't.

Let me just say that I am very sorry for your loss.

I sort of went through a similar experience. My dad died in a boiler explosion - in church of all places, believe it or not. He was a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, and a fireman - basically, he lived to serve others just like your brother.

Then, one Sunday, he was gone. Killed along with five teenagers in the class he was teaching. I didn't understand then and, now, more than thirty years later, I still don't understand.

I'm just very sorry that you and your family had to go through this. Your brother sounded like a true blessing to all the lives he touched during his life. What a shame.

Answer 5

God has sent the Holy Spirit to warn His children. If they do not listen, then they are accountable for the results. I know of a group of teenagers that were driving home from revival. On a small country road, the 2 boys in the truck were chasing the girl in the new Mustang. Racing down the road, somebody lost control first and side swiped the other. Both vehicles fishtailed out of control, flipped, and rolled on both sides of the road. All three of them died.


The same question was asked then: Why do bad things happen to good people?

For the Christian, God has given the Holy Spirit. He will show you things that are to come and will warn you of impending danger. As a Christian, you have to train yourself to listen to the Holy Spirit to avoid danger or death. Sometimes it is as simple as not going into a building, or changing you plans that will help you avoid disaster (aka 9/11).

Now, lets look at who was sent to "steal, kill and destroy". It wasn't Jesus. He was sent to give life and give it more abundantly. So, when you try to blame God for Killing your brother, your wrath is misplaced. Satan steals life, kills those that you love, and destroys your faith in a God that tries to deliver you from death.

Not being there, I can not tell you what was said to the girl and the two boys that were speeding down the road and driving recklessly. However, I imagine that there was a small voice in their Spirit that said "do not drive this way or you can get hurt". Usually, people ignore the still small voice and tell themselves that "nothing is going to happen". And while nothing may have happened in the past, it does not mean that your ability to avert disaster will continue. In the instance that I detailed above, the three teens could have lived if they had obeyed the law, listened to their parents (about driving safely), listened to their driver's education teacher, etc..

Perhaps with your brother, or the driver of the car your brother was in, there was a small warning telling one to "beware". Perhaps, if they had listened to that voice, the accident would have been avoided.

Answer 6

I am so sorry you have lost your little brother. I think it's wonderful you have such loving memories of his short life. The truth is bad things happen to ALL people. Your brother is very lucky he has left this world with a sister like you to remember him in such a wonderful way.
Peace to you and your family.

Answer 7

I can't explain it. No one gets through life without bad things happening though. It sounds like he lived quite fully while he was here, celebrate that and be grateful for the differences he made in other peoples' lives. If will be good to forgive the one who killed him (with their irresponsible actions; doesn't mean you forget what that person did though). Recognize you are in a state of grief, talk with others in person to help you with your grief. No, it's not fair, life is not fair (I know this first hand).

Answer 8

How stable or undesirable you're purely outcomes how others in society view you, and in case you're undesirable sufficient you may get some judgment against you. yet on the full it makes no difference in case you're stable or undesirable as a procedures through fact the UNIVERSE is in touch. I positioned that in the time of all caps so people could word that i'm no longer suggesting which you be undesirable. maximum folk attempt to be stable whilst you evaluate that's what makes it uncomplicated for us to have a society and get alongside with others. yet through fact the universe is the source of stable and undesirable issues that ensue to people, it ought to care much less in spite of the fact that in case you're socially nicely behaved or no longer.

Answer 9

I have found that in my personal search, everytime that I am about to unlock the next key something bad happens. It happens to stall or keep me from my path. I know this to be happening- therefore I press on.
Now sometimes we are taken early because of another reason, Think of it as something of a blessing. The rest of us are still here.

Answer 10

In hard times we tend to question God, and why He does what He does. You must realize ALL THINGS happen for a reason. We don't understand His ways, but He does have a purpose, and we must honor that, and not question it, and seek Him in our hard-times. I will pray for you that He will comfort you. Take comfort in the fact that your younger brother is in Heaven right now, and he has never been happier!