I've been seeing this theme in various, random social media posts, lately. The theme is that someone who "did the right thing" did not get the outcome they were promised and expected, and so they wish they just lived hedonistic lives, instead, and at least got that enjoyment out of it.
For example, on John Delony's show, a woman who did the right thing of waiting until marriage to have sex told John that because her marital sex life is almost non-existent, and boring and bland when it does happen, she wishes she has premarital sex and at least was able to experience pleasurable sex instead of being stuck with a life time of her marriage.
I saw a tweet reshared on Facebook where a woman was the studious good girl in high school who worked hard to get into college and get a career to advance well in life. Now, she wishes she was a party girl in high school.
I've heard from so many women who were part of the conservative fundamentalist movement of evangelicalism who really regret "doing everything right" and only getting abused for it. Now, a lot of them have turned into militant feminists and even lesbians.
Then there are the adults who are stuck in student loan debt because they were sold a bill of goods about their future.
Another one I've seen and even experience it with my husband, are people who work hard at their jobs, doing everything right to advance in their careers only to get passed up by some inexperienced junior because the company can't afford to lose their best worker in the field.
I've seen it in ministries. Someone puts their heart and soul into a ministry but the lack of support and push-back from some squeaky wheel ruins it, or it's the first on the chopping block for budget cuts.
Parents raise their children in the faith prayerfully and intentionally only for the children to leave the faith entirely.
It's happening over and over and over again across the board, and I see people question whether doing the right thing is actually doing the right thing. Or, whether it even matters to do the right thing anymore because the wrong thing happens, anyway, so might as well enjoy the hedonism if the results are the same.
Some people have said, "well, we're not supposed to be storing up treasures here on earth. The rewards will come to us in heaven." And that's true, but we're only human, after all, and constant negative feedback and reception is going to affect us! What happened to all the promises of good? It's not like people are just falling short of the goalpost. It's that the whole game is rigged and loss is inevitable with mud slung in the face for good measure!
And even if people aren't descending into the abyss of rampant active hedonism, many are slipping into a deep apathy and depression, served only with slivers of dopamine hits in entertainment and food.
I see people working so hard and not getting ahead and now the job they enjoyed or at least tolerated because of the hope for the future has become unbearable wage-slavery.
I'm not even talking about health and wealth "Christianity." I'm talking about even reason and logic. You eat healthy and exercise, you are far more likely to be healthy and gain the natural and societal advantages that come with good health. However, people in vast numbers are "doing the right things" and NOT receiving the reasonable, logical natural and societal benefits. It's like the world has turned upside down and those things don't work in general, anymore.
Do you see it? Have you experienced this? Do you sometimes wonder why God is and why your good efforts and obedience aren't getting the logical (and even promised) results?
