Considering that good and bad things can happen in life; and considering that there are good and bad people, there are four possibilities. Good things can happen to good people; bad things to bad people; Good things to bad people, and bad things to good people. Before we try to analyze the case scenarios, we need to know how good and bad are defined. To an ancient Jew, it was quite simple and straightforward. Law was given to Moses by God and written down in the Torah. The person who abides by the law is good, those who disobey the law are bad. Also, in Deuteronomy 28 the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience were clearly stated. So, for a Jew, good things are to happen to good people and bad things to bad people. The other two scenarios were confusing. In one whole book of the Bible - Job, the question 'why do bad things happen to good people' is discussed. Given here below are some references to the other question - 'why do good things happen to bad people'.
Job 21: 7-9, 13 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them. They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.
Psalm 82:2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? (Psalm of Asaph)
Jeremiah 12: 1, 2 Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.
Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Psalm 94:3 How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
Habakkuk 1: 13 Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
If you are familiar with apologetics videos you would know that one of the most common questions is regarding the suffering of the good people and why God doesn't prevent the bad people from doing bad things. What I found interesting was that not many people are interested in the other question - why good things happen to bad people. As we read in Malachi 2:17, God does get wearied with this question. Tomorrow we'll read some of God's responses to this question. Today, I thought it an interesting exercise to think about why people don't ask this question (as much as the other) these days.
I think that it could be the way law is defined these days. With postmodernism and relativism being infused into the culture, AUTONOMY and TOLERANCE seem to be held most valuable. Thus, if by autonomy, each one gets to define their own law based on what they do, each one concludes that they are good and feel entitled to have good things happen to them. Also, considering that tolerance is the highest virtue, people shouldn't be considering anyone a bad person. So, anyone asking why good things happen to bad people is called 'intolerant'.
If you have some time today, do think about these two questions.
Should bad things happen to bad people? If you say no, then are you saying that retributive justice is inherently wrong? (I don't think that is Biblically tenable.) If you say yes, then in the context of the verse in Romans where it clearly says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, shouldn't all of us be receiving bad things then?
Can you think of the different reasons why God allows good things to happen to bad people?
Link to the previous article: Why should I? Why do You?
Link to the next article: Do You allow collateral damage?
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