When Good Things Happen to Bad People

I know countless people have questioned why bad things happen to good people, so call me sort of backwards when I confess I spent a good long time wondering – and being miserable over – why good things happen to bad people. To be perfectly blunt, and transparent, I was raging angry, and totally bitter, not to mention sometimes consumed, with why someone who had committed a crime against me seemed to be enjoying every single minute of life while I was left with the ugly repercussions and ramifications of the crime. Suffice it to say my heart was too filled with hurt, and self-pity, and rage, to have the clarity to see the Truth. Then along came God, His Truth, and His conviction. And when God, and His Truth and conviction came along, I found myself ultimately with an utterly changed heart.

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Let me confess before I continue that I was far too wrapped up in myself to realize that I had no reason, nor right, to judge this other person’s life. Who was I to determine that the person was enjoying life to the fullest? What I saw on the outside of that person’s life may have been no indication whatsoever of the condition of that person’s heart and inner life. Who was I to assume that person was happy? How did I know that person wasn’t miserable inside? Better yet, who was I as a follower of Jesus Christ to walk around with my own heart so full of wickedness? After all, doesn’t Jesus Christ speak endlessly of love and forgiveness? And, speaking of the Lord, who was I to not come to grips with the Truth – and to live it? The truth wasn’t my human self-centered opinion. The Truth was, and is, God’s Truth. His Truth according to His Word.

The Truth? Yes. For starters, God makes it abundantly clear that:

1. I am supposed to love my enemy. Matthew 5:44
2. I am supposed to forgive. Matthew 6:14-15
3. God rains on the just and unjust. Matthew 5:45
4. Vengeance belongs to Him, not me. Hebrews 10:30
5. The end result of sin is death and hell for those who do not repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ even if they experience temporary pleasure on earth. Romans 6:23
6. I am not supposed to fret and worry about evil doers. Psalm 37
7. God doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), so wouldn’t it behoove me to love, forgive, and pray (Matthew 5:44) for that person’s salvation instead of to fret over why that person might be enjoying temporary pleasure on earth?
8. God wants me to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), and how can it possibly be good when I spend my time feeling sorry for myself and being envious of the life of the person who hurt me instead of spending my time doing good?

Oh, I could go on and on about God’s Truth. For God’s Word is the Truth, and His Word teaches anything and everything other than what I was doing when I carried the impossible burden of why good things seemed to be happening to the person whom I deemed so bad. But instead of going on any further about God’s Truth, let me say this. By God’s grace alone, and by His conviction and in His strength, I gave up wondering why good things happen to bad people and decided to do what God’s Word teaches me.

I chose to love the person. I chose to forgive the person. I chose to pray for the person. And I found a deeper freedom than I had ever known. I found the true freedom of being a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. I repented of the sin in my heart regarding this person and chose God’s way instead. I chose love.

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

Psa 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 
Psa 37:2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 
Psa 37:3  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 
Psa 37:4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 
Psa 37:5  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 
Psa 37:6  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 
Psa 37:7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 
Psa 37:8  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 
Psa 37:9  For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 
Psa 37:10  For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 
Psa 37:11  But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 
Psa 37:12  The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 
Psa 37:13  The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 
Psa 37:14  The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 
Psa 37:15  Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 
Psa 37:16  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 
Psa 37:17  For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 
Psa 37:18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 
Psa 37:19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 
Psa 37:20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 
Psa 37:21  The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 
Psa 37:22  For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 
Psa 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 
Psa 37:24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. 
Psa 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 
Psa 37:26  He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 
Psa 37:27  Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 
Psa 37:28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 
Psa 37:29  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 
Psa 37:30  The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 
Psa 37:31  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 
Psa 37:32  The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 
Psa 37:33  The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. 
Psa 37:34  Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 
Psa 37:35  I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. 
Psa 37:36  Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 
Psa 37:37  Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 
Psa 37:38  But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. 
Psa 37:39  But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 
Psa 37:40  And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. 

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