WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE By NOT TO BE SOLD
Why Bad Things Happen To Good People Have you ever asked yourself the question, why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? I am sure you have. We all have asked that question at one time or another. From time immemorial that question has bugged a lot of people. There are actually two answers to that question. The first of the two is where we dwell on most of the time out of the soft spot we have for good or innocent people. The second, we hardly consider. Before I mention the two answers let s look at some cases. While working on this material I had a conversation with one of my students. I wanted to hear her take from a professional standpoint. She is a resident doctor with the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. She narrated to me the story of a colleague a surgeon with the same hospital who passed on recently. He was very good at his job and had a promising future ahead of him. He died of lung cancer but he had never smoked a single stick of cigarette all his life. Mute, she called my name on the phone, How do you explain that? There are many people out there who are walking chimneys, yet they never get diagnosed with lung cancer. This man was going to be of great help to a lot of people. He was a very good surgeon; had never smoked all his life; yet died of lung cancer. What about that child who is terminally ill at the hospital? There is no medical solution for her case. She is going to die for just no reason. What about the lady who has been married for ten years and still no child. She has been a good girl all her life. Kept herself chaste; married as a virgin. Medical tests show there is nothing wrong with her or her husband, yet no child. While the other lady who is at the other end of the spectrum already has kids even after multiple abortions she had in the past. For these and many more cases like these, the honest answer is, I don t know. They are inexplicable. For no understandable reason some of these things happen. It s no fault of yours that both of your parents were AS and now you are suffering the consequence as a sickler. 1
I really wish I can undo these things when they happen but I can t. However, I think that because of these cases where we cannot, in all honesty, explain what the cause is, we lose sight of another reason why bad things happen to good people. It is this second reason that is of major concern to me. For almost a decade I have dedicated my life to the study of life and the principles that govern life. And I have come to discover that violation of principles is another reason why bad things happen to good people. What Are Principles? Principles are universal laws that govern the earth and life on earth. We are all subject to them. Principles are blind, deaf and dumb. They have no respect for age, gender, nationality, colour, class, morality, religion, or whatever segmentation we use to separate humans into blocks. In one short sentence we can say, "Principles don't care." And since principles govern life we can therefore deduce that life does not care. Life does not care whether you are a man or a woman. Life does not care whether you are good or bad. Life does not care whether you are Nigerian or American. Life does not care whether you are black or white. Life does not care whether you are rich or poor. Life does not care whether you are Christian or Muslim. Life does not care. Period. 2
The question then is, if life does not care about all these things, what then does life care about? Good question. Life only cares about one thing - that you work with the principles that govern life. And this is where many of us fail. Permit me to give a few illustrations. Let's say a man stole maize and went to plant it. Will the maize seeds grow? Of course, they will, because the principle of sowing and reaping does not give any condition pertaining to who can sow and who can reap. If a thief steals maize and plants it, it will grow. And if a responsible person buys maize seeds and plants them, they will grow. The soil does not care whether it was a thief or a responsible person that did the planting. All it cares for is that you dig a hole on the soil and put maize grains in the hole. So Mr. A is a very wicked man. He kills and maims. The entire neighborhood is afraid of him but he is very mindful of what he eats. He is very careful not to eat junk and he exercises every morning. Six times a week. 3
Mr. B, on the other, hand is a very gentle and easy going man. He is kind and loving. He will run through a wall for you. But he eats all sorts. Sugary foods are his favorite. Who among the two do you think will be visiting the doctor soon? Mr. B of course. Even though he is a good man he is violating the law of healthy living which is the principle governing health. The Classic Good-Girl-Bad-Girl Let s look at the classic good-girl-bad-girl case. Miss X is a bad girl. Bad as in the whole nine yards. While in school she was the typical runs girl. A new boyfriend every semester; clubbing every weekend; using what she has to get her grades. In the process she had a few abortions. Miss Y on the other hand was the good girl. You can predict her movement - class, fellowship, market, hostel. She had no time for boys. That was not what she came to school to do. She was a virgin. A year after graduation Miss X, the bad girl, got married. It's been 10 years now. Miss Y, the good girl, is in her mid thirties, not married and still a virgin. What happened? The most common response you get to the good-girl-bad-girl case I just shared is, "Life is not fair." Now let's go to the theatre and place both ladies under the knife. While Miss X was the bad girl, in the process she got to know men and what men want. She understood what respect means to a man. She understood that men are attracted to beautiful things and how men love sex. From the number of guys that dumped her and married other ladies she got to understand what a man is looking for when he is looking for a wife. She got books on relationship to up her game so she could get into the minds of guys. So immediately after graduating she decided to get serious and the next guy she dated proposed to her. Miss Y never knew all that. She believed prayer was the key. She fasted and went for vigils. She made positive confessions daily. She was speaking her husband into being. And there is nothing wrong with all of these. 4
But she dressed like she was in the 70's. She never read a single book on relationship. And knew nothing about what men want. Question: In the light of the above do you think life was unfair to the good girl in her still being single ten years after school even though she is a virgin? I don't think so. Husband is not a reward for virginity. Please note that I am not in any way encouraging waywardness. Neither am I saying wayward girls get married before good girls. What I am pointing out is that being good is not good enough. That you are a good girl or a good guy does not absolve you from the consequences of not knowing how relationships work. The Sun Shines On All When the sun shines, does it shine on only good people? Does the rain fall on only bad people? No. The sun shines on all. The rain falls on all. That is how principles work. Principles have no respect for anyone. Not even the person working by it. All it cares for is that you abide by it. You don't service your car and it's long overdue for servicing, soon it will break down. It does not matter whether you are a good or bad person. As humans, especially when your sense of right and wrong is in place. You are careful to do right most of the time and not do wrong. The tendency is to begin to expect life to reward you for that. But that is not how life works. Even though you are a good person, you still have to find out the principles that govern other areas of life. 5
What are the principles that govern finance? What are the principles that govern health? What are the principles that govern relationship? What are the principles that govern marriage? What are the principles that govern raising a family? There are principles that govern every area of life. You need to find them, know them and live by them or you will pay the consequences of not knowing them whether you are good or bad. Morality is a choice you make. You are good because you choose to be good. It does not absolve you from the consequences of violating any other principle. Now, don't get me wrong, being good has its own rewards and being bad has its consequences. One of which is that if the long arm of the law catches up with you, you will bear the consequence which may be spending the rest of your life in jail. But expecting every area of your life to just be fine just because you are a good person is like expecting a lion not to eat you because you are a vegetarian. That is why the bible says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Knowledge of life and how it works is something you must invest in. Now, am I placing blame on you for anything that happens to you? That is not what I am doing. What I am saying is that if you text while driving, it does not matter whether you are the Pope, you increase your chances of getting 6
involved in an accident because you are violating one of the principles of driving which is Concentration. Now if you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit may nudge you to get you back on track and concentrate. But if you disregard the nudge I promise you, even the Holy Spirit will not stop the accident from happening. You will just find yourself in heaven. Call it a short cut to heaven because you violated a principle. So whether you are a good person or a bad person has no influence on that accident. The principle is that you must concentrate on the road while driving. Violating that principle can cost you your life. Good or bad person notwithstanding. Dealing With Inexplicable Causes Remember I acknowledge that sometimes we don t just know why some things happen. Those times when you have done all there is to be done and you just don t get the right results. You just fixed the car and within 24 hours the car breaks down and it is that part that was just replaced less than 24 hours ago that is faulty again. You just serviced your generator and within a few hours it goes off on its own. The technician comes and says it is the plug you just changed the day before that has to be replaced again. Or even the cases I started with. The one of the surgeon who died of lung cancer even though he had never smoked a stick of cigarette in his life. And the lady who having kept herself chaste till marriage has been struggling to have a child. How do we deal with issues like those? First, we must realize that those issues are not peculiar to good people. We all have our share of bad days, whether you are a good person or not. Because of the soft spot we have for that pleasant neighbor, that friend, that elderly lady who is just minding her business, when these things happen we wonder why bad things happen to good people when in the true sense they happen to all of us. Second, even though we all have those kinds of experiences once in a while, they are the exceptions, they are not the rule. And like I always say, you can't live your entire life based on the exception. 7
Also, we must learn to maintain the right attitude during those times. One time, during a trip, the A/C compressor of the car failed. Not only that, the engine, the water pump and the compressor all shared the same belt. No mechanic around. The irony of this story is that I just serviced the car a few days before the trip like I always did before any trip; had the mechanic check for anything that needed to be fixed; and the air condition was just fixed on the day of the trip. The car was assessed good to go. Two hours into the journey, the compressor packed up. However, in the midst of that there was something to be grateful for - the car stopped right at a police check point. So there was security around. I was not afraid. So even though I had enough reasons to be angry since I did my part before the trip, I chose not to look at the dark side. Rather, I focused on the bright side that at least the car stopped at a point where there was security around. What if it had stopped in the middle of nowhere? It took another three hours before the car could be fixed and my wife and I (then my fiancée) continued our journey. One thing I believe is that whatever happens to me is, first, common to man. Second, it happened to me because I can handle it. 8
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he ll always be there to help you come through it. 1 Cor 10:13 MSG Your case might be worse than the example I shared. It may be the loss of a job, a business, or even a loved one. Yes you may have lost something, but you have not lost everything. I have seen people go through traumatic experiences and never recovered. I have also seen others go through same experiences and turned it around for good. Foundations have been set up because a family lost a dear child to a disease. NGOs have been set up because a lady was raped and when she healed she decided to help other ladies who have been traumatized in the same way. It is all about the attitude towards the issue. Yes it has happened, but you can still choose how to respond to whatever happened. The right attitude, therefore, is to focus on what you can control, not on what you cannot control. I tell my students at the School for Personal Leadership, If you cannot control it then don't focus on it. Focus on what you can control. Don t disregard the principles that govern life just because of these experiences. Remember that they are common to man. Everyone has their fair share, good or bad. Invest in your personal development. Don't just roam through life hoping that things will turn out fine on their own. Hope is not a strategy. You must be deliberate. Success is predictable. A successful relationship is predictable A successful marriage is predictable. A successful business is predictable. In closing, I will end with what Jesus said, For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Matt 5:45 NLT I believe I have been able to add value to you through this ebook. Do you think that it will be of value to your friends? If you think so, then I have an offer for you, but I need you to do something for me, first. Please flip to the next page. 9
I need you to share a post on your Facebook wall announcing that you have a copy of s ebook, Why Bad Things Happen To Good People, and you want to give it away for free to anyone who is interested. All the person has to do is send you their email address. (It is actually better if they post their email addresses as comments so you can have all of them in one place). Then you just forward the email where you got this ebook to them. The format is simple. See an example below: Hello friends, I just got a copy of s ebook, Why Bad Things Happen To Good People. I believe it will be of great value to you and I want to give it out for free. If you are interested just post your email address as a comment to this post and I will forward the article to you. Thank you. You can just copy and paste that format to your wall. If you can do that then I am offering you a 50% discount on my personal leadership class that holds on Facebook. Every month I hold a class called the School for Personal Leadership. It is a class that will help you become a better leader of yourself so you can achieve the kind of results you desire in life. The class holds in a closed group. All you have to do is take a screen shot of the post on your wall after your friends have started dropping their email addresses and send an email with the attached screen shot to mute.efe@gmail.com saying you are interested in the 50% discount offer for the School for Personal Leadership. You will receive a reply with details on how to register for the class paying only 50% of the registration fee. I want to specially thank you for taking your time to read this ebook. I believe it was worth it. You can read more of my articles on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/schoolforpersonalleadership 10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, born Okiemute Imoniefe, is an author, speaker and trainer. He facilitates the School for Personal Leadership, a class that holds on Facebook to help you become a better leader of yourself so you can achieve the kind of results you desire in life. School for Personal Leadership or SPL, as it is popularly called, has been training people since November, 2011, when it had its first session. Almost a thousand people have been through the program as at the time of this publication. Trained as an Electrical Engineer, is also a Certified Safety Professional and certified in Basic and Advanced Leadership. His passion is in training people to become better leaders of themselves and he does this through various platforms including the School for Personal Leadership page on Facebook. He is married to Priscillia Imoniefe. 11