Why do bad things happen to good people?

The question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is built on a false assumption—that truly “good” people exist in the absolute sense. The Bible does not support that premise.

Jesus Himself shattered this assumption:

“No one is good except God alone.”
— Mark 10:18, ESV

So, the real question should be:
“Why do good things happen to bad people?”
Because according to Scripture, we are all fallen. None of us is inherently righteous.

“None is righteous, no, not one.”
— Romans 3:10, ESV

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
— Romans 3:23, ESV

In light of these verses, the correct biblical worldview is this:
We don’t deserve good things. Every breath, every heartbeat, every moment of joy is undeserved mercy.

Biblical Backing: God’s Sovereignty and Suffering

God never promises a life free of suffering—but He redeems suffering and is sovereign over it.

1. Job — The Ultimate Case Study

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
— Job 1:21, ESV

Job was called “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1), yet suffered immensely—the death of his children, loss of property, disease, and abandonment. And yet, God was never unjust.

God never told Job the reason why he suffered. Instead, God essentially asked: “Who are you to question Me?”

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”
— Job 38:4, ESV

Lesson: We may not always understand the why, but we can always trust the Who.

2. Joseph — Betrayal, Slavery, and Divine Purpose

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
— Genesis 50:20, ESV

Joseph was sold by his own brothers and unjustly imprisoned. But what they intended as evil, God sovereignly used to preserve life during famine.
God doesn’t merely allow evil—He bends it into His purposes.

3. Jesus Christ — The Only Truly Good Person

The ultimate injustice in human history is this:
The only truly “Good Person” suffered the worst evil.

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.”
— 1 Peter 2:22, ESV

And yet, He was betrayed, beaten, mocked, crucified—for us.

“It was the will of the Lord to crush Him.”
— Isaiah 53:10, ESV

If God allowed His own Son to suffer unjustly for a greater redemptive purpose, we must not assume our suffering is pointless.

Philosophical Reasoning: The Problem of Evil Refined

1. Free Will Requires Risk

If God created free creatures (not robots), then the capacity to choose love necessitates the capacity to choose evil.

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.”
— C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

You cannot have love without freedom, and you cannot have freedom without the potential for evil. And thus, some bad things are consequences of human freedom.

2. Suffering as a Moral Teacher

Pain forces us to confront what really matters. God uses suffering to refine character:

“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character…”
— Romans 5:3-4, ESV

Without suffering, we become proud, entitled, and self-reliant.

3. Eternal Perspective Dismantles Temporary Injustice

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:17, ESV

What seems unbearable now is nothing compared to eternal reward. Any injustice in this life is temporary—and will be reversed, avenged, or redeemed in the life to come.

Historical and Theological Context

1. Augustine and the Nature of Evil

Church Father Augustine defined evil not as a "thing" God created, but as a privation of good—like darkness is the absence of light.

Evil is the corruption of what was originally good.

God created a good world (Genesis 1), but man chose rebellion, bringing sin, death, and suffering. This is the doctrine of original sin (Romans 5:12).

2. God’s Glory in Suffering

The Reformation theologians taught “Soli Deo Gloria”—to the glory of God alone. Even suffering, they believed, reveals God's justice, mercy, and power.

“Is it not the prerogative of the Creator to use His creation however He sees fit, if it will glorify Him and save many?”
— Paraphrased from Martin Luther’s theology of the cross

Real-World Analogy: The Surgeon’s Knife

Imagine a child undergoing surgery. The pain is real. But the surgeon is not evil. The pain has purpose—to save life.

God, the Great Physician, sometimes allows pain to perform spiritual surgery—cutting out sin, self-reliance, and pride.

Would you rather have a painless death or a painful cure?

Clarity

If we accept the biblical truth that:

  • No one is truly good

  • God is sovereign and just

  • Suffering is never wasted

  • Christ suffered the ultimate injustice for our redemption

  • Eternity will right all wrongs

Then the question loses its sting.

The real marvel is not that bad things happen to “good” people—but that any good things happen to rebels like us.

“He who did not spare His own Son…how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”
— Romans 8:32, ESV

The cross is God's megaphone, declaring: “Your suffering is not meaningless.”

It is either redemptive now or will be resolved eternally—but it is never forgotten by the One who bottles every tear (Psalm 56:8).

Summary

  • No one is good but God (Mark 10:18).

  • Suffering is the consequence of sin and a tool of God’s sovereign plan.

  • God uses evil for good (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28).

  • The cross proves God’s love in the face of suffering.

  • Temporary affliction is producing eternal glory (2 Cor. 4:17).

  • The truly innocent One (Christ) suffered so the guilty could be redeemed.

  • Suffering teaches, refines, and reveals God’s glory.

So instead of asking, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”—we ought to ask:

“Why would a holy God do anything good for people like us?”

And the answer is: Grace.