Keep the Faith

To start with, I have to say I don't believe in the dichotomy of good and evil, on the grounds that I don't think life and morality is that black and white, and because good and evil is entirely subjective. The simple fact is that even if you so fervently believe that you are good and your opponent is evil, they think the exact reverse – that you are evil, and they good. Someone is not evil just because they disagree with you. To use a modern example, Al Qaeda is not evil. Their perspectives and beliefs just differ from our own. I don't personally agree with their tactics or their methods or their ideals, but this doesn't make me the good guy, or them the evil villain. In the modern age, there is no titanic clash between good and evil, there is only a clash of perspectives.

So then, to follow, I don't believe it's possible for good to be rewarded or evil punished on divine scale, since they don't really exist. But that's not to say that on a societal level, acting according to the rules and ethics of one's society shouldn't be rewarded. In a society, the concept of what's morally 'good' is imposed on its citizens. So when a person within a society acts according to the laws of its society, this is considered good, and thus that person should be rewarded. The person should be rewarded because by following these rules, the massive machinery that makes up a civilization is allowed to smoothly operate. And the inverse also holds true – if a man or woman acts against the rules of the society (and thus considered 'evil' by the society's standards), punishment should be allotted to discourage further 'evil', and keep society flowing smoothly.

(But as I write this I almost cringe, because it seems to go against my belief that the individual is more important than the society at large, and an individual should be able to break free from what society imposes upon them and follow their own path. But I guess looking at this from a theoretical standpoint, and focusing on the reward and punishment system in society, I can excuse myself.)

Of course, the world doesn't always work this way: seemingly good people are punished for doing the supposedly right thing all the time. I'm regularly reminded by my parents and other adults that doing the right thing is usually the hardest thing to do, and that the easy way isn't always right. Then why do we continue to do the 'right thing' if it only yields punishment?

Because we have to.

If we don't live according to what we believe is ethically right, then how do we live? The only option, as I see it, is to keep chugging away in life and doing what you believe is right. To cower in fear and live life terrified of consequences is far worse than to live as one wants and to be struck down for it.

For God to punish Job, a righteous and pious man and in every way a perfect servant of God, illustrates the idea that bad things do happen to good people. The world doesn't work that way, and the Book of Job, as a wisdom text, shows this quite plainly. People need to understand that calamity and misfortune don't discriminate, and terrible tragedies can befall even the best people. But what's important is that one keeps the faith, so to speak. Not necessarily religious faith, but faith that things will work out and get better, or faith in your own beliefs. In the end, the Book of Job teaches us that we need to stick to our guns and do what we think is right, even if the worst possible events befall us.