Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Why does bad stuff keep happening to good people?


 We trust God. We give thanks. We pray. We sacrifice. We serve. And sometimes this leads us to feel that we are entitled. So when “life happens,” it is even more frustrating and confounding. We don't understand why things aren't going our way. After all, we're working God's program, aren't we? We're probably working harder to follow Jesus than most people are. And just when we think we're doing well, hitting our stride, WHAM! We get blindsided.

Then we start to think, “If God's going to let this unfair stuff happen to me, why am I bothering to be a good guy all of the time? I may as well be a selfish jerk like everybody else.” Well that sounds pretty logical, doesn't it?

This is one of the most difficult aspects of faith: how do you remain faithful to God and live as a Christian when you are not rewarded, but instead are made to suffer injustice? Thankfully, there are many stories we can read in the Bible (from Noah to Daniel to Job to Paul) that show servants of God who suffer many trials, yet maintain their love of God. But how?

To answer How, we have to address Why. Why does God not only withhold good things from loyal servants, but allow bad things to happen to them?

The entire discussion on this topic would be long and complex. But the answer I like to embrace is this: God cannot strengthen us by coddling us. He looks at good servants the same way military commanders survey their individual troops. When He sees potential in one of us, He will intensify our training. He cannot mold hardened clay, so He will tear us and wear us down in order to build us and shape us up.

Why? Can't He just leave us alone? Why does God want to strengthen us so much?

Because He needs strong men and women of integrity. He needs people who will answer His call. He needs many more leaders on the front lines (unfortunately most congregations are full of desk jockeys). He needs warriors who won't fold in the heat of battle. And our battles can be anything – from raising children to raising awareness for worthy causes to putting our life on the line in order to spread the Word.

Okay, now you know why. But how do we become strong enough to praise God when things go wrong? How do we embrace life when life isn't what we expected or desired?

That's a pretty tall order. So before you climb Mount Everest, you might want to tackle Mount Pisgah. Before you can enter the Special Forces and live life fearlessly with passion and purpose, you have to excel in Basic Training. You can't simply wing it. It helps to develop basic skills. For example, you may want to consider implementing the Five Ps for Spiritual Progress.

Praise: Develop an attitude of gratitude for the blessings you do receive. Wake up and give thanks every day. Eventually, you will be able to rejoice even in hard times.
Prepare: Read the Bible for instruction, inspiration and a better understanding of yourself. Start with five minutes a day.
Perspective: First, don't lose sight of the big picture of your life by letting a negative situation consume and obstruct your view. Instead, look at every challenge as a spiritual growth opportunity. When they arise, try to determine if there's a lesson or skill to be learned. Remember that God may be using you to do His work.
Practice: Through repeated actions, gradually change your behavior and develop positive habits where you need them. Find spiritual disciplines that work for you – solitude, meditation, service, music, fasting, fitness, etc. Develop character traits like honesty, kindness, charity, diligence, loyalty.
Pray and meditate: Keep your conversation with God continuous throughout the day. You cannot develop your most important relationship with a once-a-week interaction. Jesus truly wants to be your constant companion. So talk to Him. Then be quiet and listen.

When you really think about it, the training isn't hard work. Anyone can handle it. Over time, it all becomes instinctive, part of your natural life experience. You transform, gradually. Eventually, your heart will guide you more than your head, so that the negative life circumstances that your head observes and processes cannot overpower the joy and love in your heart.