In really simple terms all that exists in the world is either “of people” or “not of people.” If there were no people, then everything else would be “not of people.” For example, without people all that would be left are mountains, oceans, weather, plants, animals, ice caps, rivers, and so on. Even things that people have made are really “not of people” because cars, buildings, bridges, houses, ships, roads, and so are on are just “things,” not people.
Bad things are caused either by 1) nature, 2) decisions other people make, or 3) our decisions that result in “bad things.”
“Bad Things” Due to Nature.
You might ask, “Well Daniel, what about the bad things of nature? Didn’t God cause that?” Let’s look at it this way — suppose that you are on vacation driving along a highway under a steep, rocky cliff, pulling a travel-trailer behind your car. Suddenly a large boulder crashes down onto the trailer. That is a "bad thing," as most all of us would agree, that occurred as an act of nature. Nothing personal about it — it just happened.
Yes, God created the earth and everything that followed, including gravity, and the rock that flattened your travel trailer. God put all of this into motion at the time that this planet was created, but God didn't actively cause the rock to fall down and ruin your vacation. Your trailer just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing personal about it. Had you passed earlier or later, the boulder would have merely cratered the highway rather than your trailer. Remember, God didn’t intentionally act to harm you.
On the other hand, although God didn't actively cause the accident, God also didn't keep you from harm either. You might ask, "Why didn't God save our trailer from that act of nature that destroyed it?” The answer is this: since God is all-wise, there is no need to change the initial decisions made on how reality, including nature, should work. Once set in motion, it does what it is supposed to do, even when we get in the way. If God protected us in all the events of our lives, we would come to expect God to do it all the time, and we would give up searching for personal growth and maturity. We would not be challenged by life. Life would become easy and we would become lazy, uncreative, unchallenged, uninventive, and so on. Further, we would eventually feel that our lives were being controlled, and we would resent God for interfering in all of our plans. If God intruded into our lives to prevent harm, we would not be challenged to grow, mature, develop values, and pursue the ennobling qualities of our humanity.
If we prayed for a successful trip on our vacation and our trailer was hit by a boulder, I would give great thanks to God that the boulder did not hit the car and kill or injure us! Was our prayer answered or not?
“Bad Things” Due to Decisions by Other People.
Probably the most difficult problem we have to deal with is the decisions people make that hurt other people. God does not interfere with those decisions, because all decisions made by humans are irrevocable, meaning they will not be changed by God or anyone.
Some people ask, “Why doesn’t society do something about this problem?!!” The answer is that societies do not make decisions. People make decisions, not societies, not organizations, not governments. People make decisions and are responsible for their part in the decision, even when it is carried out by governments or organizations.
“Bad Things” Due to Our Own Decisions.
This situation is really the same as “decisions made by other people.” We are responsible for our own decisions, just the same as other people. When we make a decision that results in “bad things”, we know now that God will not change those results. However, we can ask our Fragrance of God to help us make the situation better and to learn from this situation, so we do not repeat that bad decision again.