Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
See also: Why do I get sick? Why did ____ get sick? Why don't bullies get punished? Why do natural disasters happen?
How you might answer: This is the hardest question for any of us to answer, even pastors. It doesn't make a lot of sense - shouldn't God protect us and make everything in our lives right and perfect? We know that sometimes we make mistakes - something at church that we call "sin", and sometimes those mistakes we make lead to trouble - but sometimes the things that go wrong in our lives don't have anything to do with us at all. It's OK to be mad at God sometimes because things don't feel fair, or to be sad about what has happened in our lives - we trust that God is strong enough to handle our anger and that, in Jesus, God knows what it's like to be hurt unfairly too. But while this world may never be totally fair, that's part of why we are followers of Jesus: we are trying to make it more fair for others and to make life better until the day comes when God will make all things new.
What might be behind their question: Typically, kids will bring this question up because something doesn't feel fair in their lives, whether it's in response to bullying, or inequal treatment, or even in something that they've seen on the news like a natural disaster. There are no easy answers to this question, so its important to let them take the lead on explaining what is behind their question so you can try to address it.
FYI, if this has bugged you, too: This complicated question is known in theological circles as "theodicy", aka "the problem of evil". If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then how can innocent people suffer? There have been a wide variety of books written on this topic, but powerful ones include C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" and "The Problem of Pain", and Harold Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"
How you might answer: This is the hardest question for any of us to answer, even pastors. It doesn't make a lot of sense - shouldn't God protect us and make everything in our lives right and perfect? We know that sometimes we make mistakes - something at church that we call "sin", and sometimes those mistakes we make lead to trouble - but sometimes the things that go wrong in our lives don't have anything to do with us at all. It's OK to be mad at God sometimes because things don't feel fair, or to be sad about what has happened in our lives - we trust that God is strong enough to handle our anger and that, in Jesus, God knows what it's like to be hurt unfairly too. But while this world may never be totally fair, that's part of why we are followers of Jesus: we are trying to make it more fair for others and to make life better until the day comes when God will make all things new.
What might be behind their question: Typically, kids will bring this question up because something doesn't feel fair in their lives, whether it's in response to bullying, or inequal treatment, or even in something that they've seen on the news like a natural disaster. There are no easy answers to this question, so its important to let them take the lead on explaining what is behind their question so you can try to address it.
FYI, if this has bugged you, too: This complicated question is known in theological circles as "theodicy", aka "the problem of evil". If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then how can innocent people suffer? There have been a wide variety of books written on this topic, but powerful ones include C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" and "The Problem of Pain", and Harold Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"