Response to Crisis: When Good Things Happen to Bad People: Making Sense of the Senseless
As we turn to the
73rd Psalm, we see in the psalmist's perplexity our own doubts and incomprehension about the ways of God and the way of evil in the world. We see also the psalmist's choice -- and a similar choice that you and I have to make in the face of a reality which cannot be explained. And so too, as the psalmist concludes this 73rd Psalm with an expression of his hope, we are invited to anchor our own confidence in the midst of uncertainty.
The Psalmist's Perplexity And Ours.
Asaph says in
verse 12, "This is what the wicked are like." And he has, in fact, described them previously: arrogant, successful, without regard for God, "always carefree", that is, always committing sin with impunity. He says that his own attempts at goodness, at living righteously are "in vain". He says it not once but twice. In
verse 14 he writes, "all day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning."
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On Tuesday morning, the wicked delivered a punishment of monumental proportions -- a plague of desolation and destruction. Among the dead are undoubtedly those who loved God, who loved and served Jesus Christ, loved their children, were good providers, faithful spouses, servants in their church and in their community. And it may be said that those they leave behind, suddenly grieving and asking "Why?" are of the same quality of character. Of the same faith. The same devotion. Is it any wonder that the psalmist said, "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold..." (
v. 2)
Ascendant evil and unexplained tragedy can -- and often do -- rock our faith. We begin to doubt. We begin to turn away. We pray and He is silent. We ask "Why?" and He gives no response. If we are totally honest with ourselves, we even begin to wonder if there is a God after all. Then we feel guilty for doubting, failing to remember that God realizes that we are, for all our professions of confidence and trust, still human. And He does not judge our human frailty, because He loves us and because He gave His Son up for us, and because He is, as the scriptures remind us in so many places, a God full of compassion, mercy and grace. No, we may not always understand God, but we may be quite certain that God always understands us.
The psalmist writes in
verse 16, "When I tried to understand all this it was oppressive to me..."
What would Asaph say about what happened last Tuesday morning? Would he not cry out, with millions of Americans, "Oh my God!" Would he not stake his head sadly as he watched TV and say, "Why God? Why? Why do we have to have pain and suffering and evil? Why did you let them get away with this?"