Why do good things happen to bad people? Why do bad things happen to good people? It is a mystery that has plagued humankind for as long as we have walked the Earth. I have my own answer to those questions, inspired by ancient scripture, which I will share with anyone brave enough to listen.
First though, we have to understand a couple things: first, the history that we as a people are writing will never end. There will never be a point at which we can definitively conclude that life worked out happily ever after for one of us, or did not do so for another. And secondly, most of us see but a glimpse into the lives of our fellow men and women, usually one that is fixed in time. We tout the successes of rich, famous and powerful men when they are young and vigorous, holding them aloft almost as legends, yet don't feel quite as comfortable talking about the tragic ways in which their lives often end.
With that in mind, why does it seem as though people are rewarded for their mischief, and punished for their righteousness? Well, I can think of two real-world examples, both of which have been used as allegory in the past, in order to shed some understanding on the matter.
The first is one of an orchard full of trees, some of which yield much fruit, and others of which are utterly barren. Those trees that yield lush fruit are indeed pruned and harvested, and appear to lose what they produce, but they will always have a place in the orchard. They will always remain alive, for the master of the orchard adores them. Meanwhile, the barren trees might receive a great deal of painstaking care, and much water and fertilizer, mostly out of exasperation on the part of the caretakers. But the day always comes when their master's patience runs out, and the barren trees are intentionally felled and used for firewood. So when all is said and done, their status in the orchard is highly tenuous and fleeting at best.
The second analogy is one of two dogs, both loved by their master, yet both very different. The one dog is tame as a lamb, while the other is wild as a wolf. And quite perplexingly, their master chooses to strictly discipline the tame dog for its occasional mischief, while ignoring the incessant antics of the wild dog. Why? Well, perhaps he feels his efforts would be utterly wasted on the wild one, as it has very little hope of ever shedding its feral ways. And when the day finally comes, as it always does with wild animals, that its behavior crosses one line too many -- perhaps it bites another person, or barks at a pregnant woman, or kills and eats a farmer's chickens -- that poor wild dog must be put down by its grieving owner.
Those are but two examples of why mischief may appear to be rewarded, while righteousness punished in this world. We must all face the fact that we are deeply flawed, but that not all of us are wholly uncomfortable about that fact. Some have embraced their waywardness, and have allowed it to slowly consume them, while others have chosen to cut their losses in life and be washed clean of that very same waywardness. And so some are going through the trials and ordeals of being forged anew while they walk this earth, while others allow themselves to slowly rot and rust away from within, until the day when they are finally of no use and must be discarded. That is the painful truth as I see it, and one that most people in this world know in their hearts, yet try their best to ignore.
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