--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the final analysis, the question of…" description: "\"“In the final analysis, the question of why bad things happen to good people translates itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/harold-s-kushner-4877_ability-to-love_in-the-final-analysis-the-question-of-wh_1434761.jpg" --- # In the final analysis, the question of why bad things… ![“In the final analysis, the question of why bad things happen to good people translates itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it has happened. Are you capable of forgiving and accepting in…” quote by Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/harold-s-kushner-4877_ability-to-love_in-the-final-analysis-the-question-of-wh_1434761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/harold-s-kushner-4877_ability-to-love_in-the-final-analysis-the-question-of-wh_1434761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/harold-s-kushner-4877_ability-to-love_in-the-final-analysis-the-question-of-wh_1434761.jpg) > ““In the final analysis, the question of why bad things happen to good people translates itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it has happened. Are you capable of forgiving and accepting in love a world which has disappointed you by not being perfect, a world in which there is so much unfairness and cruelty, disease and crime, earthquake and accident? Can you forgive its imperfections and love it because it is capable of containing great beauty and goodness, and because it is the only world we have? Are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they have hurt you and let you down by not being perfect? Can you forgive them and love them, because there aren't any perfect people around, and because the penalty for not being able to love imperfect people is condemning oneself to loneliness? Are you capable of forgiving and loving God even when you have found out that He is not prefect, even when He has let you down and disappointed you by permitting bad luck and sickness and cruelty in His world, and permitting some of those things to happen to you? Can you learn to love and forgive Him despite His limitations, as Job does, and as you once learned to forgive and love your parents even though they were not as wise, as strong, or as perfect as you needed them to be? And if you can do these things, will you be able to recognize that the ability to forgive and the ability to love are the weapons God has given us to enable us to live fully, bravely and meaningfully in this less-than-perfect world?”” [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering invites us to practice forgiveness and love, turning imperfections into opportunities for growth and meaning. **In simple terms:** Forgiveness and love transform pain into purpose. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion despite hardship. Themes spirituality psychology ethics Mood hopeful contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - family conflict - faith crises Key Concepts forgiveness resilience meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - Can you find love in the face of injustice? - What practices help sustain compassion? A Different Perspective Forgiveness can be difficult and may not heal all wounds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-love/) [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-luck/) [Bad things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-things/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loving god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-god/) [Perfect people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-people/) [Resilience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resilience/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Things Happen To Good People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen-to-good-people/) ## Related quotes > [Love is forgiving, accepting, moving on, embracing, and all encompassing. And if youre not doing that for yourself, you cannot do that with anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/love-is-forgiving-accepting-moving-on-embracing-and-all-encompassing/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Its never too late for anything in life...be it apologizing...or forgiving or accepting the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-never-too-late-for-anything-in-life-be-it-apologizing-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Its easy to forget that there is no perfect partner, just a perfect connection between two people who are forgiving and accepting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/its-easy-to-forget-that-there-is-no-perfect-partner-just-a-perfect/) Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom > [“I eventually came to understand that in harboring the anger, the bitterness and resentment towards those that had hurt me, I was giving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-lopez/i-eventually-came-to-understand-that-in-harboring-the-anger-the/) [Isabel Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-lopez/) > [Why bad things happen to good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [I think we're all trying our hardest, and a lot of times we do bad things and need to do more good things. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-think-we-re-all-trying-our-hardest-and-a-lot-of-times-we-do-bad/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [I'm an actress and a singer and I'm also a Christian. We're not all crazy right-wingers. I just want to be like Jesus, forgiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-chenoweth/i-m-an-actress-and-a-singer-and-i-m-also-a-christian-we-re-not-all/) [Kristin Chenoweth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-chenoweth/) > [Forgiving ourselves for all the woulda-shoulda-couldas in life, and sometimes forgiving others for actions that we feel undercut or undermine our good, can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/forgiving-ourselves-for-all-the-woulda-shoulda-couldas-in-life-and/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Only the truly magnanimous and strong are capable of forgiving and loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-the-truly-magnanimous-and-strong-are-capable-of-forgiving-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If only our heart is as forgiving as how it is to loving, no one will go a drifting...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-r-aquino/if-only-our-heart-is-as-forgiving-as-how-it-is-to-loving-no-one-will/) [Leonora R Aquino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-r-aquino/) > [As I got older, I guess I became more mellow and more forgiving and more loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/as-i-got-older-i-guess-i-became-more-mellow-and-more-forgiving-and/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Life is all about Living, Forgiving and Loving!.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-roberts/life-is-all-about-living-forgiving-and-loving/) [Deborah Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-roberts/) > [Think about a dog’s ability to forgive. This to me is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/think-about-a-dog-s-ability-to-forgive-this-to-me-is-love/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [But the human spirit is resilient. God made us so. He gave us the ability to forgive. To leave our past behind. To look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/but-the-human-spirit-is-resilient-god-made-us-so-he-gave-us-the/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [“Forgiveness. The ability to forgive oneself. Stop here for a few breaths and think about this because it is the key to making art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/forgiveness-the-ability-to-forgive-oneself-stop-here-for-a-few/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More by Harold S. Kushner > [When a mentally retarded child is born, the religious question we often ask is, "Why does God let this happen?" The better question to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-a-mentally-retarded-child-is-born-the-religious-question-we/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Seek something outside your nine-to-five job as an additional source of fulfillment and as a way to feel the joy of helping others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/seek-something-outside-your-nine-to-five-job-as-an-additional-source/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [But at the end, if we are brave enough to love, if we are strong enough to forgive, if we are generous enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/but-at-the-end-if-we-are-brave-enough-to-love-if-we-are-strong-enough/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Life is like the baseball season, where even the best team loses at least a third of its games, and even the worst team…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/life-is-like-the-baseball-season-where-even-the-best-team-loses-at/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The circumstances of your life have uniquely qualified you to make a contribution. And if you don't make that contribution, nobody else can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/the-circumstances-of-your-life-have-uniquely-qualified-you-to-make-a/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [None of us has the power to make someone else love us. But we all have the power to give away love, to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/none-of-us-has-the-power-to-make-someone-else-love-us-but-we-all-have/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [We teach children how to measure and how to weigh. We fail to teach them how to revere, how to sense wonder and awe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/we-teach-children-how-to-measure-and-how-to-weigh-we-fail-to-teach/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [God, who neither causes nor prevents tragedies, helps by inspiring people to help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/god-who-neither-causes-nor-prevents-tragedies-helps-by-inspiring/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [There seems to be something in the human soul that causes us to think less of ourselves every time we do something wrong... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-seems-to-be-something-in-the-human-soul-that-causes-us-to-think/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [There is a Jewish notion that holiness is found with other people. To understand what life really is, one has to share it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-is-a-jewish-notion-that-holiness-is-found-with-other-people-to/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The path to God is rarely a steady climb upward. We climb, we fall back, and we climb higher again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/the-path-to-god-is-rarely-a-steady-climb-upward-we-climb-we-fall-back/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [You don't have to be religious to have a soul; everybody has one. You don't have to be religious to perfect your soul; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/you-don-t-have-to-be-religious-to-have-a-soul-everybody-has-one-you/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something magical happens: Ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-your-life-is-filled-with-the-desire-to-see-the-holiness-in/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [When I talk to people who feel this emptiness and lack of fulfillment, I recommend they find a source of balance in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-i-talk-to-people-who-feel-this-emptiness-and-lack-of-fulfillment/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Forgiveness is a favor we do for ourselves, not a favor we do to the other party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/forgiveness-is-a-favor-we-do-for-ourselves-not-a-favor-we-do-to-the/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) [Explore all 105 Harold S. Kushner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) ## More Ability to love quotes > [“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-is-hardly-necessary-to-stress-the-fact-that-the-ability-to-love-as/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability to think but our ability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-makes-us-human-is-not-our-mind-but-our-heart-not-our-ability-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The absent and inert girl hanging dreamless from my arms is no more foreign to me than the door or window through which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/the-absent-and-inert-girl-hanging-dreamless-from-my-arms-is-no-more/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“Life is difficult and people are imperfect. Unable to cope with the vagaries of this world, everyone makes mistakes. True love is the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/life-is-difficult-and-people-are-imperfect-unable-to-cope-with-the/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [When I speak about attention, I mean literally, "How much attention can we pay to ourselves?" As children, sometimes we cannot hold our attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-medicine-eagle/when-i-speak-about-attention-i-mean-literally-how-much-attention-can/) Brooke Medicine Eagle > [“ No more. The yin fen has taken so much from me: my family, the years of my life, the strength in my body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/no-more-the-yin-fen-has-taken-so-much-from-me-my-family-the-years-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Paradoxically, the ability to be alone is the condition for the ability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/paradoxically-the-ability-to-be-alone-is-the-condition-for-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/do-you-know-what-the-definition-of-insane-is-yes-it-s-the-inability/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“With practice, you will find that not resisting holds the secret to many spiritual experiences, including the ability to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/with-practice-you-will-find-that-not-resisting-holds-the-secret-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The greatest gift God gave us is also our greatest curse, which is the free will. We are made in God's image, the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-greatest-gift-god-gave-us-is-also-our-greatest-curse-which-is-the/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“Higley was here.” “James Higley?” Thomas’s expression went flat. “You jest.” Nathaniel shook his head. “He was here after church services.” The memory stabbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-lynn-perry/higley-was-here-james-higley-thomas-s-expression-went-flat-you-jest/) [Amber Lynn Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-lynn-perry/) > [“It sickens me to think of you a prevalence of void unholy immovable damned. gifts. an overblown sense of his own importance. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/it-sickens-me-to-think-of-you-a-prevalence-of-void-unholy-immovable/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The solution for mankind is of a spiritual nature. It is not a political or religious solution. It's the ability to love each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/the-solution-for-mankind-is-of-a-spiritual-nature-it-is-not-a/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Remember Grace, if you let anger into your heart, it will push out your ability to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/remember-grace-if-you-let-anger-into-your-heart-it-will-push-out-your/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) [Browse all 161 Ability to love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the final analysis, the question of why bad things happen to good people translates itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it has happened. Are you capable of forgiving and accepting in love a world which has disappointed you by not being perfect, a world in which there is so much unfairness and cruelty, disease and crime, earthquake and accident? Can you forgive its imperfections and love it because it is capable of containing great beauty and goodness, and because it is the only world we have? Are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they have hurt you and let you down by not being perfect? Can you forgive them and love them, because there aren't any perfect people around, and because the penalty for not being able to love imperfect people is condemning oneself to loneliness? Are you capable of forgiving and loving God even when you have found out that He is not prefect, even when He has let you down and disappointed you by permitting bad luck and sickness and cruelty in His world, and permitting some of those things to happen to you? Can you learn to love and forgive Him despite His limitations, as Job does, and as you once learned to forgive and love your parents even though they were not as wise, as strong, or as perfect as you needed them to be? And if you can do these things, will you be able to recognize that the ability to forgive and the ability to love are the weapons God has given us to enable us to live fully, bravely and meaningfully in this less-than-perfect world?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold S. 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