Unjust

The Teacher looks across the world beneath the sun.

What does he see?
He sees what humans do to one another.

There are many tears–

quiet, steady, mostly unnoticed.
The crushed have no one to stand beside them.
No voice rises in their defense.

Power gathers on the other side.
Strength answers to strength.
And those who suffer remain alone.

He speaks a hard conclusion:
The living must endure.

But the dead are at rest.

The one who has never drawn breath is better still
since he is spared altogether,
for he has not witnessed the machinery of injustice
turning under the sun.

And then the Teacher steadies us:
Do not be shocked when the poor are pressed down,
when justice is bent,
when righteousness is traded.

Because this is how the structure stands:
officials guard another,
Protection layered upon protection.
Power reinforcing power.

And so the pattern continues beneath the sun.

In a world where injustice persists and life often feels vapor-thin, the Teacher says there is still something solid to hold onto. There is nothing better for a person than to receive the ordinary gifts in front of him. Eat, drink, and find satisfaction in work. He’s not saying we should pretend the world is fair but instead, recognize even in an unfair world, daily joys come from God’s hand.

Your portion is enjoying meals, taking satisfaction in labor, and rejoicing in the good you are given. These are the days God has assigned to you under the sun and you can receive them with gratitude even if you cannot control how long they last.

So go ahead: eat bread with joy. Drink with a glad heart. Enjoy life with the spouse you love during the fleeting days you are given. These are gifts from God himself! They are not small. They are God’s provision for you in a world you cannot fix.

There is nothing better under the sun than to receive these moments and let them accompany you in your work. God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who walk with him. And when he fills a person’s heart with joy, that joy steadies him. It keeps him from obsessing over how short life is or how broken the system may be.

You may not be able to straighten everything that is crooked. But you can faithfully receive what God has placed in your hands today.