Unjust consequences?

“But I didn’t do it!” I can still hear my children protesting when they were in trouble over something. Even getting caught red-handed, so to speak, brought the same protest.

As adults, who of us hasn’t responded the same way, even when we did do it? Trying to protect ourselves from the consequences of our foolishness at times can seem much more important than just admitting our mistakes.

As a Christian, I realize that my actions have consequences, but they are not always what I expect. We get accused of things we didn’t do and the Bible even says that those who live godly lives will be persecuted. To me that does not seem just.

For instance, if we say that Christ is the only way, we are called narrow-minded. If we say that He is God in human flesh, we are accused of being mentally deranged. If we mention the blood of Christ, we are bloodthirsty. If we obey God, someone will not like it and may even tell lies about us. These accusations hurt, but it could be worse.

1 Peter 3:17-18 says, “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God . . .”

It is possible for Christians to suffer because we did something wrong. Tell a lie, speak abusively, cheat on income tax, cheat on your wife — whatever it is, if God says do not do it, and we disobey Him, we deserve whatever scorn is heaped on us. The only comfort in this is that it is just. If I act like a jerk and am accused of being a jerk, or if I suffer in any way because I am doing the wrong thing, it does fit with my inner sense of justice.

However, suffering for doing good does not fit. It seems unfair and such a contradiction that my sovereign God allows this to happen. If I do good, should there not be a good result? Why wouldn’t people see the goodness and applaud it, not persecute the person who does it?

As usual, most spiritual questions can be answered by taking a good look at Jesus Christ. He was executed as a criminal, guilty of no crime, or wrong, or evil, or sin. He never had a mean thought, nor spoke or acted in an ungodly way. His death was the most unjust punishment ever inflicted on anyone, yet that shows me something about the consequences of doing both good and evil. I can be totally within the will of God. I can be loving, gifted, perfectly obedient and have a heart for others, yet still experience abuse for it. Unjust suffering happens.

Jesus was misunderstood, misrepresented, hated, persecuted, and murdered, yet He didn’t do anything to warrant that. He calls me to follow Him, and I must never think that doing so automatically guarantees protection from anything bad happening to me.