Why do bad things happen to good people?

United States
April 2, 2010 2:15am CST
Similarly, why do good things happen to good people? If karma, is indeed real in this world and if there is a higher being that supposedly is fair and just, why is this kind of unfairness allowed? Of course this is all speculation and there is no way to prove this answer and everyone has their own opinion, so I am open to all of them. There is no wrong answer, so feel free to write down whatever thoughts you find pertinent. One possibility could be, that there is no one true good person and that everyone is a "sinner." So in essence, maybe life is just unfair. Life is sporadic and even a good person can sometimes be dealt a weak hand of cards. The situation of bad things happening to good people can also be seen as a lesson. If only good things happen to good people, then they will never learn to appreciate the value of what they have. What do you guys think?
1 person likes this
10 responses
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
3 Apr 10
This makes me think of something a lady at my church said that the closer you are too God the more the devil will mess with you. Not that he can hurt you but he's fighting for your soul. Bad people aren't being messed with as much because the devil already knows where he stands with them. He's not worried about them. Those kind of people do get theirs in the end though.
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Apr 10
Very nice. I've heard that before... that the closer you are to God, the more the devil will want to mess with you. That is possibly why bad things happen to good people too. In that regard, we all just need to keep on trudging through the murky waters until we reach the end.
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@mjcookie (2271)
• Philippines
3 Apr 10
I agree with cupkitties.
• Philippines
3 Apr 10
Bad things happen to good and bad people it's just that they have different views in things that happened to them. if you are good, I'm sure you'll think that God is trying to mold you to become stronger. and that is true, things that happened to us good or bad is what we are made of. Happy day to you!!!
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Apr 10
Your response reminds of me yin and yang. There's always a good and a bad. There's never just one or the other. So I agree with you. It's what you do with a situation that's given that really counts in the end! Happy day to you too!
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
2 Apr 10
i think things do happen for a reason: 1. sometimes the reason is that we are being careless. we are not thinking about the things we do and the decisions we make, and this costs us a lot of after effect- not necessarily good, but it can be bad too! 2. sometimes other people made a life mission to make others feel miserable! and they end up being the miserable one - yes.. believe me there are those who does anything they can to just make you feel you are no better than them, and we tend to sometimes be affected and frustrated at the same time - bad things can arise from such and i think the only way is to stay away from people who we think is not a good influence. 3. consequences - there is a positive and a negative effect - sometimes things just happen! and we cannot control anymore. i think God is not the kind of being that would punish people, so let's not blame the bad things on God because we are sinners - remember God has already paid dearly for our redemption.
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• United States
2 Apr 10
Yes God has paid dearly with our redemption by sacrificing his only son to save us all. God does punish people for sin, or at least in the Old Testament. God punished mankind at least three times according to the Bible. The first is Soddom and Gommorah, The 10 plagues of Egypt, and finally the great flood of entire earth. After God had done these things he had promised never to do these things again. There are however, still many great catastrophes. Whether it is God's will or not they happened. If God is really all powerful then if he wanted to then he could prevent all those bad things from happening. I understand that it is good to stay with good people and bad to keep company with bad individuals, for they influence one another.
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• United States
2 Apr 10
I know what you mean and I don't know why it happens and it seems to happen all the time, It is kinda like the person who wins the lottery is always a rich person and really has no need to this money it seems so unfair, But have yo noticed that too? I guess no one ever told us life was going to be fair, I know life is full of ups and downs, and I feel sad about the downs that happen to people that don't deserve it, I feel the same way as you!!
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• United States
3 Apr 10
I guess the people who do go through those trials tribulations just need to remain strong and keep on trudging forward. Life just teaches us to appreciate the good things and "ups" in life because no one ever knows how long that happy moment will last. If people actually wanted what they have and stopped always trying to want what they don't have, maybe then that is the key to true happiness.
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@nangisha (3496)
• Indonesia
2 Apr 10
I think in this world we have committed sins even a good person. God allow bad thing happen to good people to test to strong are you and how big is your commitment to God. will you loose your faith, if not He will put you in highest place than before also with stronger wind.
• United States
2 Apr 10
That makes sense. God does work in mysterious ways so he would try and test mankind or even good people. Even Jesus was tested multiple times before God and was found to be free of sin. We cannot be all Jesus but we can all strive to be like Jesus, even through our trials and tribulations. As long as the good people strive forward and continue to pray then hopefully in the end they will be okay either here on earth or up above in heaven.
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@xasasa (321)
• United States
2 Apr 10
I think bad things happen to good people to help them keep things in perspective. For example, you don't appreciate the sunshine unless you go through a rainy day. If nothing bad happens to those who are good, then they are unable to appreciate the good things that happen to them. I would like to think that I am a good person but I am going through some difficult times. While going through these tough times I find myself more appreciative to the little things in life.
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• United States
3 Apr 10
Very well said xasasa. I agree with your point of bad things happening to good people to put their own life in perspective. Good luck with you in your troubles and to everyone who is going through trials in their life. At least we now know what to do, learn from our mistakes, and as you said appreciate "the little things in life".
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@anurag3786 (6267)
• India
3 Apr 10
I thinks it is rule of life.. because good persons always forced by many sorrows.. and bad people get happiness.. but it is only at started.. but in the last always good people get happiness and bad people get sorrow.. I think it is journey of a life.. have a nice day and keep mylotting always..
• United States
3 Apr 10
That is a very good insightful response. Life is a journey and that is just something that we have to deal with. In the end, credit is given where credit is due. So do you feel like the journey is what counts or is the end result more important?
@mjcookie (2271)
• Philippines
3 Apr 10
You're right. I think life is fair in a way that each of us has our own share of bad experiences, whether we're good or not; it's not only the bad people that should experience bad things. And it doesn't mean that if people are good, then they should fare well all the time. God tests the faith of each of us in ways that may vary from person to person. And just like what the other responders have said, we wouldn't be able to determine that a chocolate is sweet if we haven't tasted a green mango yet. LOL.
@mjcookie (2271)
• Philippines
3 Apr 10
LOL okay. God indeed works in mysterious ways.
• United States
3 Apr 10
That was an interesting analogy that took me a few minutes and some consultation by my fellow mylotter in order to understand. I see now that you are trying to say that you cannot know what sweet is without knowing what something sour is like. Meaning, an individual cannot know what is good without experiencing what bad is, thus even good people need to experience bad things from time to time. I'll just go with the reasoning that God works in mysterious ways.
@razim17 (194)
• Malaysia
2 Apr 10
Good people seems to have the ability to be patient more than the bad.God is fair so the challenges for these good guys always tougher than the bad ones.I guess that is life.Everything is sometimes fair and unfair at the same time.
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• United States
2 Apr 10
Okay I get it. So my interpretation of your response, simply put, is that God is fair but life can be unfair. God knows each person's ability to take on different situations, which is why sometimes bad things happen to good people, because God knows that they can handle it and learn from it at the same time.
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@buccha (59)
• Philippines
3 Apr 10
I have been wondering about this also, I mean I see good people who do everything right but bad things follow them, I mean whats up with that, I also notice bad people who just do what they want and do not consider if it is good or bad but it seems nothing bad happens to them. I just don't know if life is just unfair or just God is waiting to test good people their patience and waiting for the bad people to stop and understand that their doing is hurting other people also.
• United States
4 Apr 10
I don't see how the bad people will stop what they are doing if some of them receive no consequences for their actions, thus they are not learning from their misdeeds. I guess we can just go with that life is unfair and I don't want to get mad at God, so let's just say that he works in mysterious ways. Finally it was brought to my attention that at end of the road earth is not the final frontier but merely the beginning. Thus, what is done on earth will translate to where someone goes after they die; heaven or hell. Basically, justice will be done not here on earth but when it really counts, at the Gates of St. Peter.