Right. Got it. You guys don’t know the answer.

So, why do bad things happen to good people?

For that matter, why do good things happen to bad people?

The thing is, Jesus supposedly answered that question in the Sermon on the Mount, specifically in Matthew 5:45. However, most clergymen and Christians gloss over this important aspect of what he is reported to have said in the “love your enemies” section of that historic sermon.

Matthew 5:45 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The rising sun and the falling rains are the effects of nature and are neither bad nor good. These are natural phenomena. And natural phenomena happen without prejudice to all people. No one is immune from the effects of nature, whether the effects are mild and pleasant or harsh and destructive.

We know that reality, time and again, demonstrates that for every cause in nature there is a natural effect. Storms form as the result of atmospheric pressures, which can cause storm winds to blow and make trees topple. It is the nature of trees to eventually fall. People and structures near those toppling trees can be crushed. A storm is neither good nor evil. Falling trees are neither good nor evil. The resultant destructive effects on people or their possessions are neither good nor evil. A storm (or falling trees) no matter how severe, is nothing more than a manifestation of nature, which is the result of various natural causes and effects.

The effects of nature may be viewed as inconvenient or undesirable by those adversely affected, but bad things did not happen to good people. Nature is the quintessential definition of equal opportunity. Nature happens to everyone regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or character.

The same idea holds true for sickness, disease and death. All these things that people fear or wail or bemoan, are merely manifestations of unprejudiced natural phenomena. Storms, sickness and mortality are not punishments for evil. All living things are born and all eventually die. Plants, animals and people are all equally part of the natural universe. I am part of nature. You are part of nature. Storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, sickness, and death are not supernatural or unnatural. These things are all natural. And these things can and do happen to everyone and everything.

But what about crime and war?

Crime and war are anti-social manifestations of human nature. Just as we build shelters to weather storms and develop medicines to treat diseases, we create law and order mechanisms to inhibit or alter anti-social behaviors. Human nature is also a part of nature. Sometimes the effects of human nature are mild and pleasant. Sometimes the effects are harsh and destructive. Human nature, like all of nature, happens to everyone.

So, the next time someone asks “Why do bad things happen to good people,” you might want to let them know that bad things do not happen to good people. Nature happens to us all.