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How Can I Trust God When the World Is Filled with Injustice?

Have you ever been through a time of suffering which seemed to have no possible redemptive purpose?  As Pastor Tommy Nelson puts it, “That’s why I love the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is far more honest about life than we are sometimes.”

In this chapter, Solomon tackles more than just the random pain and suffering we experience. In verse 16 and following, we see that the plan of God also includes inequity and even insanity sometimes. 

Betsy Ten Boom once told her sister, “Corrie, we are in hell.”  Like Betsy, you may feel that you are in hell, and He’s nowhere to be found. (For more about Corrie Ten Boom’s story, check out my 2017 post, following my visit to Amsterdam with Jennifer.)

Over and over, Solomon shows us what he has witnessed about the insanity of life in the context of a sovereign God. God has rigged life so that we have to trust Him even though it doesn’t always make sense.

Consider These Five Areas of Life

1 – Inequity

And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,

    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

– Ecclesiastes 3:16

Sometimes, bad guys win and good guys suffer.

None of us want instant justice from God. God’s patience with sin is an incredible blessing—otherwise, all of us would come under His immediate judgment.

I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment

    both the righteous and the wicked,

for there will be a time for every activity,

    a time to judge every deed.”

– Ecclesiastes 3:17

Here’s a fact to comfort us: There will be a day when God will deal with evil.

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

– Ecclesiastes 3:18-21

Pastor Tommy Nelson asks, “Why does God give dog fleas? To remind them that they are dogs.  Why does He allow struggles? To remind us that we’re not God.”

God tests man and shows him his fallibility. In contrast, verse 21 shows us that, unlike the beasts, man will have to face God one day.

So, what should you do?

So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

– Ecclesiastes 3:22

Solomon reiterates his earlier point: Do not let what you can’t understand destroy what you can enjoy.  Enjoy right now. If you can change the bad stuff, change it. If you can’t, just enjoy life as it comes.

2 – Oppression

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—

    and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors—

    and they have no comforter.

– Ecclesiastes 4:1

A Note of Caution

The reality is that we still have men like Stalin and Hitler, and we’ve got genocide going on in a half a dozen countries right now. And it’s going to keep happening as long as we are alive on this earth.

And I declared that the dead,

    who had already died,

are happier than the living,

    who are still alive.

But better than both

    is the one who has never been born,

who has not seen the evil

    that is done under the sun.

– Ecclesiastes 4:2-3

Solomon laments that if you’re alive, you can be sure somebody is going to hurt you unjustly. Oppression and injustice are a part of life.

3 – Rivalry

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

– Ecclesiastes 4:4

Materialism is driven by competition and covetousness.  Do you ever get tired of running in the rat race where only the rats when? Do you ever get weary of keeping up with the Joneses?

Solomon shows us that we can take our denial of status quo too far.

Fools fold their hands

    and ruin themselves.

Better one handful with tranquillity

    than two handfuls with toil

    and chasing after the wind.

– Ecclesiastes 4:5-6

If you quit working simply because of all the competition, you’ll end up destroying yourself.  Don’t be a bum! In our modern culture, you have to work. Dropping out is not an option for someone who wants to honor God.

But he also says that it doesn’t make any sense to kill yourself to be a success in this world.  Consider the Tommy Nelson Translation of verse 6, “Rather than putting two hands in for eighty hours a week, why don’t you put in forty hours with one hand and with the other eat some Rocky Road?”

Hall of Fame Football Coach Vince Lombardi’s father had tattoos on both of his fists.  One said, “Work.” The other, “Play.” His father told him you work hard and then when you go hom, you party and enjoy your family.

4 – Things over People

Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

There was a man all alone;

    he had neither son nor brother.

There was no end to his toil,

    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.

“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,

    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”

This too is meaningless—

    a miserable business!

– Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

What’s the evil we’re seeing in verse 8?  It’s accumulating wealth at the expense of relationships.  It’s focusing more on things than on people.  Don’t be a workaholic!

Ty Cobb, the great Detroit Tiger whose harsh demeanor continuously alienated others, said, “If I had to do it over, I’d make more friends.”

Two are better than one,

    because they have a good return for their labor:

If either of them falls down,

    one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

    and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

    But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,

    two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

– Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Solomon reminds us that life is met by two people better than one. Working together, two people can be more productive than one.

The idea is that we shouldn’t make money then stay away from people, so we can keep more money. If we do that, we’ve forgotten life. Life is buddies. Life is pals. Life is partners and friends.

Are you lonely? Don’t be lonely for the wrong reason: Don’t be lonely by design. Be a loving, giving, kind, servant-hearted friend. Life is cold when you’re by yourself. In this world, we all need a little help from our friends.

When it’s all said and done, the only thing you’ll have with you at your funeral will be your friends and family.

5 – Popularity

Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

– Ecclesiastes 4:13–16

In verse 13, Solomon looks at popularity, but take a closer look at verse 16: There is no end to the people who will not be happy with you.

How quickly, Solomon says, they will forget you. Don Meredith used to say about quarterbacks, “Today, you’re in the penthouse. Tomorrow, you’re in the outhouse.”  In fact, as Pastor Tommy Nelson pointed out, Dallas Cowboys’ fans booed Hall of Fame Coach and two-time Super Bowl Champion, Tom Landry.  Years later, they also booed Hall of Fame Quarterback and three-time Super Bowl Champion, Troy Aikman.  How soon we forget!

Solomon advises to trust God, do good, let the chips fall where they may, and enjoy life. Find some buddies, make all the money you can in a hard day’s work, then go home and sit loose.

Do some things that will matter for eternity. Serve Christ as long as you can until your number comes up, then die well.

That’s pretty good stuff for a 3,000-year-old book.  It’s sound wisdom, and only a fool would ignore it to his peril.