Does a person deserve all the evil that has happened to them?

from the old testament

• Evil exists because the world is fallen. Genesis 3 explains that sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, bringing brokenness, death, and suffering to all creation (Genesis 3:16-19). This shows that suffering is often a consequence of a fallen world, not personal guilt.
• Cain’s murder of Abel (Genesis 4:8-10) illustrates that people can suffer because of others’ sin, not their own.
• Likewise, nations and communities often face consequences due to the choices of those around them (Exodus 1:12-14).
• Lamentations and the prophets remind us that hardship can serve as correction or a call to repentance, but not every trial is a direct punishment (Lamentations 3:32-33; Isaiah 48:10).
• When a righteous man named Job was blindsided by calamity after calamity, his friends gathered to theorize what had caused these terrible events. Three of his fair-weather friends concluded that Job must have been guilty of some secret sin, for God would not allow a good man to suffer (Job 4:3-8; 8:20; 11:14-17). But they were wrong, as God chastised them for later (Job 42:7-9). There was a supernatural reason for Job’s suffering: Satan had asked God to test Job. Job did nothing to deserve all the evil he faced; it was the result of living in a fallen, broken world and demonic activity.

from the new testament

• Galatians 6:7 tells us that we reap what we sow. This passage emphasizes the principle that our choices and actions have consequences, but it is not saying that every bad thing that happens to us is a direct result of our actions. The focus is on personal responsibility in our own lives, encouraging us to sow good, live righteously, and trust God even when we face trials.
• Pain and suffering in the world can also come from living in a fallen, broken world (Romans 8:22), from the actions of others (John 19:11), or from demonic activity against us ((Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8)—not always as a direct result of personal sin.

implications for today

As we sow, we reap, right? Plant an apple seed and, in time, an apple tree springs from the earth. Drop a grain of corn into the soil and some time later, up comes a cornstalk. The same holds true in human behavior. A student who diligently studies will likely get the better grade. An employee who is chronically tardy can expect to be fired. We often do reap what we sow.

But this is not always the case with bad things that happen to us. Evil, difficulty, and suffering exist in this world as a result of sin. We often hear people ask questions like: Why does God allow evil? Or why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? When these questions are asked, we recognize that the world is not as it should be. Until God restores and redeems what sin has destroyed, we must understand that evil is a part of this world. It can come from the brokenness of creation, the choices of others, circumstances beyond our control, or dark spiritual forces aligned against us. Regardless, we will not always know why evil has happened other than the reality that we live in a fallen, broken world.

A drunk driver need not wonder why he struck another vehicle. He plowed into the other car because his reflexes were woefully impaired by alcohol. Charged with DUI and on his way to jail, the drunken driver is reaping what he has sown; however, what about the severely injured driver in the other car? Nothing stronger than an iced latte had entered her system. She was on her way home from the office when her vehicle was struck by an inebriated driver, and now she is in the hospital with multiple injuries and wondering to herself, “Why did this happen to me?”

We may not always know why a baby dies in its crib, a bride is killed on her honeymoon, a pastor is falsely accused of wrongdoing, a faithful mother of three is abandoned by her husband, a beloved teacher is slain in a drive-by shooting, or a conscientious employee nearing retirement is suddenly discharged. God’s people are in no way immune to calamity. Of the Lord’s disciples, it is believed all but one suffered a martyr’s death, and John, the only one to die of old age, had been banished to a desert island. For that matter, our Lord Jesus Himself suffered as no man has ever suffered (Isaiah 53).

To assume all tragedies are a form of divine punishment is foolish, arrogant, hurtful, and simply wrong. Let us not repeat the mistakes of Job’s “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). Rather than formulating theories, we should be drying tears and dressing wounds.