Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? - The Eternal Question

 “…It is possible that you dislike something and there is good in it for you, and it is possible that you like something and it has evil in it for you, and God knows and you know not.”   Quran (2:216)

    

    Good and bad, right and wrong, we believe there to be a very clear distinction between these two pairs of words. If I ask you, what is a wrong action, you might answer, "Stealing is clearly a wrong action". However, the border between right and wrong becomes blurry when we introduce ethical scenarios. Is a hungry, starving child who steals bread to sustain himself and his family, a thief? Does he deserve punishment for securing his basic human right to food and nutrition? In Buddhism, actions have harmful or beneficial consequences, yet there is no steadfast path indicating good and bad actions. It only speaks of them as kusala (skilful) and akusala (unskillful). A person may be virtuous and benevolent to one person or community but harmful and evil to another. Therefore, it is important to remind ourselves that our actions are subjective.

    Before we answer the question above, we must understand that "good" and "bad" things happen to everyone. Painful memories, daunting challenges, and lonely moments set upon our lives like a sickening fog, yet I believe it is how we rise to these occasions that defines our personality. During our darkest times, we feel the most vulnerable and we bare our souls to God, praying for help and strength. We reconcile with Him and forge a connection that we have previously forgotten, allowing us to draw courage in the fact that God has a plan.  It is easy to break our ties with Him after a traumatic moment knowing for all the love we give, we receive nothing. If God exists, why do pain, suffering, and hatred remain? It is understandable to ask these questions, but people should also remember that He also gave us what we need to cope. He gave us hope and tremendous amounts of love to counteract the hate subjected to us every day. I could not realize this for a long time, maybe I was blind or refused to believe He would not help the individuals who need it most. But why should I put my faith only in God? Why not my fellow human beings? 

    A thin, permeable border separates the two opposing paint colours of black and white. The border allows the escape of the opposite colours, mixing it into a grey and blurring the lines of where one colour begins and where one ends. It is almost impossible to distinguish one from another, but we now have to come to terms with new colour, this colour of uncertainty, and accept it. Morals are rarely the idealistic black and white scenario we make out to be, but when we are stuck deep in the grey area of morality, we turn to God. We turn to Him to help us distinguish the colours to the best of our ability and act on them accordingly. God acknowledges the darkness and hatred in our world and presents Himself everywhere, in all different forms, but God gives us many different ways to find Him. It may be the material gifts like money or good health, but who's to say He doesn't present Himself in the form of other people? 

    In the end, the greatest way God has presented Himself is through hope, hope that better days will come. Hope that at the end of the day, light always overcomes the dark.

   Laasya