Why Does Tiger Get the Millions, and I Have to Pay $60 to Golf at a Public Course?

Many people question why bad things happen to good people, but a more difficult question to answer is why do good things happen to bad people?

Consider a guy like Tiger Woods. He was quite possibly the most marketable person on the face of the earth for over a decade. He won tournaments by 10 strokes, took months off at a time to vacation on private islands with his supermodel family. He held major corporations like Nike and Buick at his beck and call. While all along he was sleeping with women he barely knew whenever he got the chance. We see drug addicts sign the biggest movie deals. Unethical politicians seem to rise to the top. In two weeks I am going to Nicaragua where Daniel Ortega has changed policy so that he can remain in office for a third term. (Why stop at two if it’s so much fun being dictator… I mean president).

Why do all these bad people seem to live the best lives?

I read a Psalm out of the Bible this morning that asked that same question.

“I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.
They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.”

The truth is that sometimes people with bad ethics sometimes live easier lives… for a time. If we only judge the present time, we might be fooled into believing that the path to success in life is to mistreat, cheat steal and lie. But if we watch men and women who build their lives bad standards, and it seems that things have a tendency to topple over. Their secret lives get revealed and all of sudden life isn’t so rosy any more. Some simply lose respect, others lose their money, and some even end up in jail.

When your life’s goals are material things and you sacrifice all else to get there, it can be robbed from you in a moment. But try building you life on other things and no one can steal it from you. If you invest in hard work and a job well done regardless of the compensation, there is no one who can take that from you. Your reward is the satisfaction of the job well done. When you invest in your family and friends instead of yourself, your relationships get stronger instead of weaker. Reconsider what you count as valuable in your life today.