Nick the Auditor...

Frustrations, ideas, rude comments and suggestions welcome.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Good People vs. Bad Things - Round 1 Goes to Bad Things

This lady at work brought her mom home after she had been in hospice care. For those of you who don't know, that's where they put you when you have a terminal illness and have a limited amount of time left. I forget what she had, but I think it was lupus. She was doing a lot better for a few days, improved standard of living and such, being able to see the grandkids (even if for only a few minutes at a time), she was even getting up and around on her own. But, unfortunately, after about one week at home, she took a turn for the worse, and passed away. The lady just came back to work for the first time on Friday. I couldn't even bring myself to approach her and say hi, I just didn't know what to say.

This brings me to the question so often posed by preachers in what I can only assume is an attempt to lure unsuspecting folks to the pulpit. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Does this question truly even bear repeating, it seems quite obvious to me, but perhaps some just don't realize it...and I suppose it depends on whether or not you are talking about believers or not. The obvious answer to me is: "to bring an unholy people to their knees before a Holy & Almighty Lord! The One who controls your circumstances wants you to realize that and give Him the glory for all that happens in your life."

3 Comments:

  • At 7:47 PM, Blogger Tony E said…

    I think that the reason this question is so tuff is because the answer is so severe. The reality is that there are no "good" people. No matter what comes our way (with the exception of Hell) we are always treated better then we deserve. There is a puritan prayer that really effected me when it said "my sins are greater then my trials." How do you communnicate that with love? Very carefully. In the case of this woman we can look at things and say that God was good to give her the time that she had with her mom because that was unwarranted. Yes it is offensive but so is the gospel. I'll be praying for you during this delicate time of witnessing.

     
  • At 6:58 AM, Blogger James said…

    I've been struggling with this question in theory lately because as God has been teaching me more and more about how sinful I am, I find it hard to come up with a convincingly compassionate response for people who ask this question. (I know, you're thinking, "James, how could YOU not be compassionate?" Right.) Anyhow, I guess it all comes down to everything we get being a gift anyway, yet we're seldom thankful for any of it. Getting accusatory towards God for not giving us more seems, well, ungrateful. But at the same time, real people are hurting, and I would be remiss not to be able to give an answer that would help them turn towards God instead of away. So difficult.

     
  • At 3:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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