Let’s face it—whenever you’re asking, “why do bad things happen to good people?” you’re talking about yourself. You are the good person, right? Why are bad things happening to you? I’m here to give you those answers. It took me a while to get to this level myself. The good news is, we can all understand why bad things happen to good people.

Chances are, you consider yourself a good person. You’re wondering why bad things keep happening to you. Somehow these musings mostly affect religious people. They believe that God is punishing them, testing them, or rewarding them. Atheists, on the other hand, are usually pretty off-handed about the whole matter. They believe in coincidences more than anything.

It can be hard to come to terms with the fact that God is punishing you yet you are basically a saint. You spend so much time wondering what got you into God’s bad side. Why is he punishing you? Fortunately, I’m here to answer your question, why do bad things happen to good people? I hope to make you see better about your situation.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Here are 5 reasons why bad things happen to good people:

1. You think bad things aren’t allowed to happen to you

You feel that you are a good person. Nothing bad should ever happen to you. I’m pretty sure God never says you won’t get any bad things if you are a good person. The thing is, bad things happen to good people—but they also happen to supposedly bad people. Bad things happen to everyone. What are the chances you trip on a random rock on your path? It didn’t happen because you were bad or good. It just happened.

2. Around you, bad things don’t happen to bad people

Who is good and who is bad anyway? People that seem bad to you probably think they are good. You see them enjoying life while you suffer with problems. Bad things just aren’t happening to bad people. The thing is, maybe you just don’t see them suffering.

3. You think there is a hypothetical balance of good things and bad things        

In other words: karma. You think that if you are a good person, only good things are allowed to happen to you. It probably sounds right to you. But the thing is, the world doesn’t work like that. I don’t think there’s anyone to whom nothing bad has ever happened. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people.

4. You’re concentrating on the bad things

Why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe you’re just concentrating on the bad things. It’s okay to feel this way. When something bad happens, you are going to concentrate on it more than the good things in your life. That’s the way we are wired as humans. We have to deal with problems and solve them. We don’t have to actively do anything about good things except enjoy them.

5. You think everyone should suffer alike

Okay, so bad things happened to you. That means everyone else should suffer in their lives too. If not now, then maybe later. That’s not how it works. Sometimes people don’t suffer in their lives. Some people suffer all through their lives. Don’t compare yourself to other people.

Bad things happen to everyone

Our lives are all different. Life just doesn’t happen the same way to all of us. It’s easy to be bitter about bad things happening to you. You need to realize that bad things are just another occurrence in the world. Everyone suffers once in a while.