Why Do Good People Suffer?

Why It Matters

The fact that good people suffer goes against our sense of justice. It also suggests that there is little point in being good.

To Think About

Some people believe that humans experience a cycle of death and rebirth. They say that those who committed good deeds are reborn into favorable circumstances, whereas those who committed bad deeds are reborn into a life of hardship. According to that belief, even a good person can suffer if he committed bad deeds in a “past life.” However . . .

What purpose would such suffering serve, since the person supposedly reborn does not even recall his past life?

Why do we work hard to stay healthy and avoid accidents if our well-being is largely determined by what we did in a past life?

What the Bible Says

Suffering is not punishment from God.

On the contrary, much of it is random​—often, a matter of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The swift do not always win the race, nor do the mighty win the battle, nor do the wise always have the food, nor do the intelligent always have the riches, nor do those with knowledge always have success, because time and unexpected events overtake them all.”​— Ecclesiastes 9:11

Our sinful nature contributes to suffering.

People often use the word “sin” to refer to a bad act that someone commits. However, the Bible also uses it to describe a condition that all humans​—good and bad—​have inherited.

“I was born guilty of error, and sinful from the moment my mother conceived me.”​—PSALM 51:5, Footnote.

Sin has had a devastating effect on humans.

It has not only damaged our relationship with our Creator but also put us out of harmony with the rest of God’s creation. That has resulted in enormous suffering, both to individuals and to the human race as a whole.

“When I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me.”​—ROMANS 7:21.

“All creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together.”​—ROMANS 8:22.

God did not create us to suffer.

He wants us to enjoy life.

“There is nothing better for [people] than to rejoice and to do good during their life, also that everyone should eat and drink and find enjoyment for all his hard work. It is the gift of God.”​—ECCLESIASTES 3:12, 13.

God gave the first two humans a perfect start.

He did not mean for them​—or their descendants—​to suffer.

“God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth and subdue it.’”​—GENESIS 1:28.

The first two humans chose independence from God.

As a result, they brought much suffering on themselves and all their descendants.

“Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”​—ROMANS 5:12. *

God did not create us to live independent of his guidance.

We were no more created to rule ourselves than to live under water.

“It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”​—JEREMIAH 10:23.

God does not want us to suffer.

He wants us to live in a way that, to the extent possible, we avoid problems.

“If only you would pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river.”​—ISAIAH 48:18.

No. Suffering was never part of God’s purpose for humans. Suffering began when the first two humans chose a course of independence. But this does not mean that the human race is doomed to a cycle of endless suffering.