When good things happen to bad people

We all wrestle with understanding why bad things happen to good people but tonight I want to look at the opposite of this, “when good things happen to bad and needy people.”

God is his grace gives certain things to everyone and we will look at that later but first I want to look at an issue that we see frequently and that is wicked and selfish people who obtain good things by doing evil things such as manipulation, exploitation and abuse of their powers. Asaph and Job wrote about this issue.

Asaph wrote about this in Psalms 73:1-12

A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.

And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.



It is difficult for us to understand why the wicked live at ease while so many who seem more deserving struggle for survival. To us it seems unfair, unjust and we wonder why. In the news recently the lifestyles of some of the world’s leaders have been exposed. Former President of Egypt Mubarak is worth billions of dollars in a nation where the majority of the people live on less than $2 per day. Khadafi who rules over Libya is also extremely wealthy and has no problem flaunting it in a nation that also has a majority of the people living in poverty. The list could extend to many leaders, business owners as well as common people of the world who are evil people yet live lives of comfort and luxury. It is easy for us to condemn them and question why they get away with what seems to be great inequity and injustice.

Job had the same questions that Asaph had when he was placed on trial.

Job 21:7 -20

Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and does not miscarry. They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of the wicked is far from me. “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger? That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

The problem Asaph and Job had when they viewed the prosperity of the wicked is that they did not consider that God will have a day of justice for all of mankind. He sees everything and knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart of every person. A day of reckoning will come and for some it will happen while they are still alive when their schemes are uncovered and they are brought to trial in civilian court or some other form of judgment takes place to strip them of what they have. God has established his law of sowing and reaping. He will not be mocked and in one form or another those who have exploited, manipulated and gained wealth in ways that dishonor God’s nature and character will be judged and punished. As believers we have a responsibility to bring to light the things done in darkness that are destroying people’s lives. We cannot sit back and not respond thinking that in the end they will pay for what they have done. We have to be the defender of the weak, the poor, those enslaved by others of which there are more than 27 million people in this category. God loves justice because it is his nature and when we carry out his justice it releases people and brings glory to God.

When we see the wicked prosper we need to trust in God’s perfect judgments be executed but we also need to take action to rescue the oppressed and bring the violators to justice in a way that reflects God’s nature and character. I think all of us have read of cases in Guatemala where the people took justice into their own hands and put to death people who were accused of committing crimes. Some times their actions are based on the impunity of the courts and the corruption that takes place in the justice system. When the violator is not caught or properly punished which is a very common the people take things into their own hands because they lack confidence in the system to execute justice. In Guatemala less than 5% of the crimes committed are brought to court which only serves to justify the actions of the people who bring their own form of justice to bear on the violator. This not the right way to resolve the issues of injustice and we cannot condone these actions.

We must be careful in what we call “good” because much of what we call good may really be evil based on how it is obtained, how it is used and what are the final results. If receiving all the pleasures and goods this world has to offer alienates me from God or keeps me from even seeking God how can that be a good thing? If I exploit other people or lie or steal to gain something that is good, how good is it? We have to look at what is good from God’s perspective and not our own.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

If we do not acknowledge God or see that every good and perfect gift comes from him then we will be quick to use those things exclusively for our own benefit because we claim ownership of them rather than the Christian concept of stewardship of everything God has given to us. Our sinful nature is very selfish. We think of ourselves first, what is best for me, what I want always takes precedence. We live in a very fallen world and we see injustice and selfishness on a daily basis. Yet God’s eyes are not blind to those who seem to be living in luxury at the expense of others. Their day of justice will come and the kingdoms they have built will be counted as nothing when the see the King of Glory and see themselves for who they really are.

Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

Those who gain through evil means have a sorrow added to it by the Lord. That sorrow may be experienced in this life or at the judgment seat on the final day.

People who do evil to obtain what appears to be good things is one thing but I also want to look at why things that are truly good things, gifts from God, are given to bad and needy people. You and I are or were in this category at one time in our lives.

In a word this defines grace. God’s undeserved or unmerited favor, receiving something that we do not deserve.



God’s nature is one of goodness. The original Saxon word for God really meant “the good.” God is good and there is no evil in him. His goodness is extended to all of mankind, the rich, the poor, the righteous and the unrighteous, he causes good things to happen to everyone. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. “Mat 5:45

Psa 104:14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth

Psa 104:27 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.

God is his goodness and grace has provided a fertile earth and all that is needed to give food to all of his creation.

God’s greatest act of grace was his gift of Jesus. Through this gift of grace we see God’s goodness to provide a way for our sins to be forgiven, our relationships to be restored and the gift of eternal life given to all who receive God’s gift in Christ.

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

God wants his goodness to lead men to repentance. This can only happen when the eyes of our understanding are flooded with the light of God’s truth. Then we can see clearly that every good thing we have in life is a gift from God and our response must be one of complete surrender to Him who is the Source of all goodness. We realize that without God we are nothing and everything that we have given greater value in our life of sin is as nothing. When we see ourselves properly we can only admit that we are not deserving of anything. Every one of us has fallen short of God’s original intent for our lives. Before we surrendered our lives to God, we lived as though He did not exist and the world revolved around us. We did not seek Him but He sought us. His love for us caused him to give us the greatest most undeserved gift possible and that was his Son who would give his life to ransom ours. God has given the greatest good gift to a world that is full of evil. Paul stated in Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

A good thing has happened to bad people and we are one of them. We did not deserve it but God in his grace, gave us what we did not deserve. God made Jesus to be our sin that we may become righteous or in right standing with Him. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross was the just payment of a righteous God. The blood satisfied the requirement God demanded to pay for the sins of all of mankind. This blood was God’s grace in action. Ravi Zacharias tells the story of a man who survived the assault on the hotel in Mumbai in 2008 where over 200 people were slaughtered by the assassins. When the assassins began shooting the people this man went down to the floor and pretended he was dead even though he was not shot. When asked afterward why he was not killed he said the man next to him had been shot and because his blood was splattered on his body, the assassins thought he was dead. The blood of this man spared his life. You and I have received the blood of Jesus and the death we deserved has been atoned for by the blood of Jesus. This is the good thing God has given to bad people.

John stated in John 1:16 “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” The grace of God was not just a one time gift but it is a continual gift to us. God loves to give good things to people who do not deserve them. This is his nature, he enjoys who he is and giving his grace is something he delights in doing.

We are to be people of grace, willing to give freely and generously to people who some may claim are not worthy. God calls us to demonstrate His grace to a fallen world and that can take on many forms. One of the ways we have been able to extend God’s grace and show His goodness is through some building projects and distributing food to the needy.

We have been able to build a few homes for people in need in San Pablo La Laguna. We work through a couple of pastors who know their community and see people in need. We have built a couple homes for people who many have deemed unworthy of receiving them because of the way they live. Many ask why we built a home for this family when the parent’s are not saints. In their minds there are people more deserving than the ones selected. Regardless, the need that they have for a home is there and often there are young children involved or circumstances that happened such as a mudslide that destroyed their previous home that brought about the need. Our hope is that through the gift of the home they will see the goodness of God and desire to know Him. If we wait until people are good enough we will probably never help them but if we are people of grace as our God is a God of grace we will give to meet the needs of people and trust God to work in their lives to bring about the awareness of his goodness to them.

We have also received food that we are giving away to people in need as a way of demonstrating God’s goodness and His grace. Mark and Dayle have been taking food to the homeless people living near the Mercado each week. The need is obvious and though some may label these people as unworthy God sees them differently and through the giving of a meal to them our prayer is that they will see a God who sees and responds in love to meet them at their point of need.

God has created us to do good works because it is through our good works that people can see God’s goodness and give glory to Him. This has to be the motivation for the work God has given us and we must always give God the glory for the good things we are able to do to help people. We are simply God’s instruments he has chosen to use to bring glory to him. We must be quick to give him the honor and point people to Him. Just like a compass always points to true north our good works should always point to God.

Paul wrote to Titus and encouraged the people to be devoted to good works.

Tit 3:8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people

Tit 3:14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

Good works are ways that we get to demonstrate the grace of God to people. Works do not save us but give evidence that we are saved from selfish and judgmental living. Good works flow out of a new nature we have received. We have a new nature of goodness that is reflected in Christ who lives in us. What better people to be the recipients of good works than those who do not know God or live for Him. I can not think of a better way to demonstrate God’s love and grace than through tangible acts of kindness and goodwill to people. People may not completely understand our motive and some may think that we are trying to get something out of them or back from them but when they do understand that it is a free and unconditional gift they are receiving I believe it will help open their hearts to see God in a new perspective. I would much rather leave people with an image of a God of love and grace than one of judgment and condemnation.

Paul specified 2 types of works; those that are profitable and excellent and those that meet urgent needs. Our works should be quality that of excellence that reflect that we care enough to give something of value and worth. Giving someone a stale piece of bread or one that has mold on it communicates a strong message to the recipient. Some may say it is better than nothing but the question we need to ask is, is this the best I can give from what I have? Does this meet the standard of excellence and profitability that God would want me to hold myself to? We can not use a different standard when it comes to doing good works for other people. “Good enough” , “Beggars can’t be fussy”; “It’s better than nothing” are phrases that I have said and heard from others when it comes to helping some people. These are not the standards God expects of us because they do not reflect how he feels about the people and what he wants for them.

The last home we built was for a family near the base. When I went to visit them and see what they needed and what we could do for them, I had in my mind what would be best and explained to the dad what we could do. When I came back to see them a couple days later, they presented me with some of their own ideas of what they would like. At first I thought their ideas were not going to work and I stated again what we could do. After I left I began to think about their needs and desires and what would be best for them. I changed my mind to give them what they really wanted and needed. I did not want to insist on my ideas and in the end have the family a little upset that I did not care about what they needed. So we built the home the way they wanted within the budget we had and everyone was happy. The same thing happened with the stove built for them. I had in mind what I thought would be a great stove that was developed by a guy who worked in Guatemala with the Peace Corp for a couple of year. I downloaded the instruction in Spanish complete with pictures of how to build the stove and showed it to the son-in-law who would be building the stove. I simply asked him to read it over and let me know if this was something he could do and if not we would look at some other options. After looking at the design, he came up with a bigger and hopefully better way to do it. The stove is about twice as big as I had originally thought it would be but it is exactly what the family needs to help them with their tortilla business. It was done with excellence and I pray it will be profitable for their business.

The other type of work Paul described is meeting urgent needs. We have seen the urgent needs in Japan and I hope you have been able to give in some way to help meet the needs. There are many worthy organizations that are doing a lot to help the people and we can give with confidence that our gifts will go to the need.

World Vision’s founder was Bob Pierce. The organization came as a result of a trip that Bob took to China when he was working with Youth For Christ. During the trip, he shared the gospel message at a school of 400 children living on an island off of China. He gave an invitation for the children to receive Christ and then told those who gave their lives to Christ to go home and tell their parents that they were going to be Christians. Bob wrote what happened next.

“Well, when I came to the mission school the next morning, Tena (the school teacher) met me with a little girl in her arms. The child’s back was bleeding from the caning her father had given her when she went home and announced that she was a Christian, and she was going to live for the one true God…she’d gone home and told her father who was incensed because that by turning to Christ she had dishonored his ancestors.”

The school teacher told Bob Pierce that he was not leaving the island without doing something for her. The girl could not return home and the teacher did not have the resources to care for her as she was already taking care of several children. Bob had only $5 with him which he gave to the teacher but the teacher was very adamant in holding Bob responsible for the on-going care of the children. She said to him, “That’s just the beginning, Bob Pierce. You will send me five dollars every month. I ‘ll let her sleep in the kitchen like my other six do, and I promise you I’ll take care of her.” Bob had to make a decision whether he would make a one time gift or a long term commitment to help this girl. Bob made a commitment to send money each month and wrote Tena’s name in his Bible as a record of his commitment. This was the beginning of World Vision that still operates today in many parts of the world. Like Bob Pierce, we all have opportunities to reach out and meet urgent needs of people and for some of you this will develop into a ministry that will involve a greater commitment of your time, energy and resources. Bob Pierce is remembered for a statement that he wrote in his Bible while on Kojedo Island which many of you may have heard that shaped his life and ministry and I pray it will do the same for each one of us. “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” These are the things that God reveals to us and calls us to action to display His goodness and grace through the good works we are able to do to meet needs. (Bob Pierce This One Thing I Do)

As you spend time in Guatemala I pray that God will speak to you and show you exactly what your mission of good works should be. It will be a great challenge as you pursue the mission but you will also see God’s great provision because you are manifesting His nature and character to the people He loves and cares deeply for each person.