Why

Ebola is a scary disease.  Most of the people who get it die and in the process infect other people.  Ebola has been known for decades but it was isolated to small villages and rural areas in Africa.  Transportation was so bad that when there was an outbreak, it stayed in one place.  Now with improved transportation, sick people move around and the disease spreads.  Last report was that over 5000 people in Africa have dies from the disease, and of course there are the cases here at home.

As bad as Ebola is, it is likely not the worst thing that will happen this year.  There are hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding and wild fires.   War and genocide kill thousands.  The United Nations estimates that over 20,000 people a day die from hunger or hunger related problems.  There are plenty of problems in the world and I haven't even mentioned the state and local issues that we hear about at election time.  

The question is why?

Why why why why why.  Why do bad things happen?  God is loving and kind and all that.  God is all powerful and could make it all stop.  So why.  Why do bad things happen?

This question is not easy.  I can't say that I have the right answer, only an answer that works for me.  Some people think that it has some thing to do with contrast.  Without bad how can we appreciate good.  How can we really know love if we have never known hate.  I don't buy it.  This is logic that says it is good to hit your head against the wall because it feels so good when you stop.  I don't think that I need ugly to appreciate beauty.  I don't need death to appreciate life.  So this one doesn't work for me.

Some people believe that it has something with God making us suffer so that we will draw closer to Him.  I don't buy this either.  This casts God in the role of tormentor.  There is a rare mental disorder called "Munchausen by Proxy" where a parent inflicts harm on their children to gain attention as a caregiver,  I don't believe that God does this.

So what is it.  I think the answer is simple.  Sometimes bad things happen.  Most, but not all, are the result of bad decisions on our part.  Say someone gets hit by a drunk driver.  There were so many ways that people could have chosen differently and created a different outcome.  From the person drinking, to the bartender, to the friends to the person who got hit.  Life is a collection of our choices and their consequences.

Even the Ebola outbreak is mostly caused by the abject poverty of the region.  The world has largely ignored Africa and when challenged, the infrastructure was not equal to the task.

God gives us free will.  We cannot expect that our free will to be suddenly suspended when it might cause problems.  We need to accept the consequences of the decisions that we make.

So then why do we need God?

I think that bad things happen.  And when they do, God is there to help us through.  He doesn't leave us or forsake us.  He is along with us as we go through the storms of poor decisions.  He gets to us.

I could ask God why there are so many poor people, hungry people, suffering people in the world.  He might ask me the same question