Tides of the Enigma

“There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless” Ecclesiastes 8:14

“In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.” Ecclesiastes 7:15

Generation after generation, we have wrestled and toiled attempting to grasp why these truths are allowed to be so. I do not feel inclined to persuade you of the truths behind these statements, for I believe that the reality of them is self-evident to believers and non-believers alike. Have you not sought to do good and received chastisement for it? And have you not also done wrong and gone against the convictions placed in your own heart, and still reaped reward and exaltation? I certainly know that both of those realities have been true in my own life. It’s apparent that these are universalities of the human experience, and understandably we have collectively sought to make peace between the reality we find ourselves in and other statements in the biblical tradition. Take Psalm 37:28 as an example, which reads “For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish”. Why then is it that in actuality we sometimes find ourselves suffering as a consequence of doing good?

Colloquially, when we talk of justice we are speaking to the concept of correction towards moral righteousness or rectifying a situation in which a wrong (or an injustice) has been done. Justice has a connotation of serving the purpose of righting a wrong, an act of retribution against an evil or an iniquity that has been borne upon an innocent other. While there is nothing wrong with this definition of justice per se, I would like to posit that it is an incomplete picture of justice as it pertains to the human condition. Justice of the type I have described to you has imbued within it a notion of cosmic morality, that there are absolute wrongs that must be atoned for and made right. For the sake of this essay, I will refer to justice of this sort as cosmic justice. I believe there to be another notion of justice that has less to do with moral righteousness or atoning for an iniquity, an amoral notion of justice that is primarily concerned with reconciling a disturbance in an established order. It exists even if utterly unconcerned with notions of absolute goodness, for it finds its roots in self-interest and maintaining a status quo if you will. I will refer to this form as human justice.

I believe in the God of cosmic justice, the God whose intention for us all is to live harmoniously in purpose with one another. God has set before us and placed a dependency on moral order within the hearts of most people, believers and non-believers alike. But I ask you, do the wicked not also seek justice when the righteous foil and disturb the order of the schemes and systems they have in place? Do they not also long for restoration so that they may continue on in their ways? I tell you that the desire to be made whole again is placed in the hearts of all people, the good and the wicked alike.

As a believer, we are called to live our lives in a way that is in alignment with the way that God has called us towards: In love, honesty, and righteousness. This way of being is what sets us apart and allows us to transcend mere humanity as we become image-bearers of the divine. But, an upright person will be punished for doing good in a wicked and corrupt arena. When we find ourselves in environments and situations that incentivize and reward corruption, your righteousness will disturb the established order and you will reap the consequences of human justice. Truly I tell you that it should come as no surprise that the righteous will perish in their righteousness and that the righteous will get what the wicked deserve. Your values and unwillingness to compromise living below them will disrupt the way of things, and will awaken convictions in the hearts of those who have chosen to do otherwise. All values and ideals serve as a judge, a point and place of comparison even when we live them out with a spirit of grace towards others. An unready heart shaken by conviction can and often will breed feelings of judgement and defensiveness, for which you will be attributed to be the cause of.

Furthermore, despite awareness of the potential consequences we still must be disruptors when we find ourselves in these arenas. We cannot sacrifice the good to live harmoniously outside of our purpose. Jesus himself speaks to this in Matthew 5:10, he says “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Did he not show us himself through his own actions that this was true? He had committed no cosmic injustice, yet died as a consequence of human justice. This is how he has called us to be, too. We must live forthrightly irrespective of whether we are plagued or rewarded for it, though we know we may suffer at the hands of humanity as a consequence of it.

I leave you with this, there is nothing new under the sun. Generation after generation both the righteous and the wicked perish, and this will continue to be so. Do not be afraid, find peace in accepting the reality of things and take heart in fighting the good fight of faith. Walking the way of faith – revering truth, love, and the good is the best way of being. Learn to love your lot in life whatever that may be, and find fortitude in knowing that God shall call all things to account.