Sunday, October 17, 2021

Life Is Not Fair

It happened last Harvest Festival Day. A professor in the Media Communication Department writes about his thoughts that came to mind hearing of the death of a doctor in a traffic accident.
 
The accident was reported in the news on the last day of the holiday; he found it very sad. On one of the expressways, where heavy rain fell, an SUV slid off the expressway in the rain and ended up on a hill. A doctor who saw this while following hurriedly stopped his car on the shoulder and ran to the vehicle. Fortunately, the driver was not seriously injured. As soon as the doctor returned to his vehicle after checking the driver's condition, the car from behind slid and hit the doctor's car as he entered.  The doctor died an hour later.

When the news of the accident became known, those who knew him all expressed deep regret. The doctor ran an internal medicine clinic for 30 years, not only treated all patients with great care but also provided free medical treatment to patients in need. In addition, he was in charge of treating prison inmates and worked in community projects many unknown to many in the community.
 
Those who knew the doctor and all the good he did were deeply discouraged: "Oh, God why did such a man have to die?' It was a protest in they understood why God could not bless everybody for their good deeds but why this untimely death of such a good man. In fact, it seems an ordinary situation where good people who have done good deeds and lived conscientiously suffer in their daily life. Too often innocent people are horribly sacrificed. Such is the case with the Sewol ferry disaster and the genocide of Jews by the Nazis during World War II.
 
That is our condition in the world and human history. The world is not heaven.

From a different point of view, in the present world, we do not always see the good receiving their just reward. If a person's good deeds and evil deeds were accurately counted and rewarded according to the results of the calculation who would not be doing good deeds?

In this world, if the principle of reward according to the deed performed were accurately applied to good deeds and evil deeds, all those who enjoy success, wealth, health, and longevity have been paid a lot for their good deeds. But that is not our present reality. Many have worked hard with a good heart, but have achieved little, and others through their wit, intelligence and evil behavior have achieved much. This is especially true in a capitalist system where material values take precedence over all values.

This is not because God is indifferent, but because the world's work and heaven's work have different standards and values. Jesus once scolded Peter: "Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path because the way you think is not God's way but man's way." In Matthew (5,45), "God causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike." It emphasizes that God's word is "complete love given without discrimination." The "parable of a good vineyard owner" who pays the same wages to workers who came out early in the morning and those that were hired late in the day.
 
Rewards according to the deed is a common ethical basis for all religions. In addition,  praying for blessings for oneself is a human natural instinct. However, while doing good deeds, you should not count in advance to receive compensation in proportion to the good deed. Jesus' message is that it should be for the kingdom of God.

Martyrs knew they would lose all earthly goods but their strong faith was not based on worldly blessings.
   
'God’s truth does not change'. In this world, both religion and theology have developed over the centuries. Also, even if the belief of many has undergone transformation and development, the periphery has shown a tendency to adhere to fundamentalism. 
 
Now, the trend is to break away from the conventional framework of causality and retribution theory and move toward 'enlightenment'. Also, asking for blessings is a natural instinct, the new trend is increasingly emphasizing not what we can receive but what we can give—consideration for others, love for neighbor. In fact, this is what Jesus emphasized from the beginning.