Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Most people have asked themselves this question at one point or another. Even if you are labeled as a terrible person, you probably have wondered why do bad things happen to you (since you probably see yourself as a good person). Do people turn evil after so many bad things have happened to them?

I typically prefer not to write about current events or give my opinion on political platforms. Someone somewhere will have something to say on it. It can be a factually based statement, or it can be complete ignorance. I just haven't seen the point to throw my view in the mix because, in the end, it doesn't mean anything.

I have lost respect for celebrities and well-known speakers who choose to use their "famous" status to give their opinion in an attempt to persuade their fans. I am nowhere near famous, but I hope whoever reads this will understand that this article is not trying to persuade anyone to one side or the other. Personally, I believe that people will think whatever they want to think. People will talk about you. They will either say something nice or rub your name around in the dirt.

So, why do bad things happen to good people? I don't really believe in karma. I don't think this world dishes out punishment to those who seem to deserve it. People get dealt crappy hands for no reason sometimes. Stuff happens. With the recent events of the last few months or even years, this nation has suffered a great deal. There will be events that can never be explained. Sometimes there is just no explanation.

Thomas Aquinas, an Italian philosopher, and theologian, once said, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

It is human to crave an explanation for why mass shootings occur, or why friends and loved ones die unexpected, or why anyone chooses to disappoint you in life. I have to believe that it all happens for a reason, if anything, to make one see how strong they are when they come out on the other side of something terrible and traumatic. I have learned to accept that I will not always get to know that reason. I've learned that it's okay.

It would be stupid to ignore what is going on in the world. It's easy to say that it doesn't involve you because it happened to someone else. Your time will come, and I won't sugarcoat it. It sucks. Anything can happen to anyone.

So, what is the solution?

Survive. That's all I've got.

You have a choice to keep going each and every day. The world may seem like nothing good is left, and that the end is soon near, but then I see signs that no matter how bad things may seem, there is still life around us.

Not one person can change the world. But you can help others to see the good around us when darkness tries to blind us.

I see gorgeous sunsets that remind me there is still beauty. I see hope in the face of children. I feel the wind and know that things are always changing. We are never stuck in one place forever.

I praise God when my life is thriving and exciting, and I cry out to Him when my world is upside down. I see His love in the encouraging smiles of my friends. I feel His love in the arms of my family. I carry His love in my heart to seek a better tomorrow.

Remember friends, it's just a bad day (or week, or month, or year), but it's not a bad life.