The Big Questions About God Sýnishorn

If God is Good, Why Do Bad Things Happen?

This question assumes that if God is good, nothing negative will ever happen to us. That assumption doesn’t hold true.

A mother can be good and still create negative consequences for her child. It’s part of her being good and loving to teach her child appropriate behavior, which sometimes involves allowing her child to experience the consequences of bad behavior. God is good, very good, and because he is good, he gives us a free choice. Our choices have consequences. We call this the law of “cause and effect.”

Cause and effect isn’t some random thing God necessarily imposes. Cause and effect are a part of the way life works. When we make wrong choices, there can be negative consequences. Let’s go a bit deeper here.

The Bible tells us God is the source of life, happiness, peace, and everything good, as long as we connect with him. We have all of these things, but when our choices result in our becoming disconnected from God, we no longer have access to true life, happiness, peace, and everything good in life.

Instead, bad choices bring negative consequences. It’s not that God wants to punish us and see us suffer. Not at all. It’s just how it is according to the law of cause and effect. I’m not saying God doesn’t punish people in the way the Bible expresses he does. If God is sovereign, if he is in charge of the universe, then he is responsible for the operation of all law, including the law of cause and effect. Like a loving parent, God often uses punishment as an act of redemption to help us realize where we’ve gone wrong and encourages us to change our ways.

The bigger picture here is that God doesn’t want you to be punished for your sins because the wages of sin is death. That’s why he sent his son Jesus into the world to take the result of your sins upon himself.

He did it at the cross. So today, if you accept that Jesus died for you by taking your punishment, you will receive eternal life. It’s an amazing trade. God’s gift is so amazing that it stops any doubts you could ever have had about his goodness.

– Eliezer Gonzalez