Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Psalms

[Throwaway]

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." This verse tells us God rewards people with children. So why then do people 'sin' by having pre-martial sex get pregnant and end up having children with NO DEFECTS OR HEALTH ISSUES, but women who have faithfully served God and devote their lives to him are unable to get pregnant and have children?

[jimwalton]

Because the world doesn't work according to the retribution principle (righteous people get blessed and wicked people get punished). The book of Job is about this very subject. God doesn't govern the world according to the retribution principle because it's a self-defeating strategy. So we all experience the good and the bad, and our behavior is no guarantee of present or future treatment in this life.

[Jedi Jeff]

But still, the innocent or righteous sleep well at night, and the thief has always got to look over his shoulder.

The thief can only be friends with other people who have a similar morality to him.

The honest man and the thief cannot get along, its best if they part ways, or one could conform to the other, change.

Only another honest man can get along with an honest man.

There seems to be a reward system in play here.

[jimwalton]

I didn't say there was no reward for honesty and integrity, just that the world doesn't work according the retribution principle, and God doesn't claim that it does.

By the same token, there are many innocent people who don't sleep well at night because of some oppressor after them or a threat to their lives.

The honest man and the thief can sometimes get along, as criminals help police, or the diplomats of two opposing countries meet for negotiations.

I'm not as convinced that the reward system is either so obvious or so consistent as you seem to be claiming.