Acts 25-26, Proverbs 2

For the upright will live in the land,
   and the blameless will remain in it;
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
   and the unfaithful will be torn from it. (Proverbs 2:21-22)

These two verses represent elementary-level teaching. The gist of it is that if one does good deeds, one will be rewarded for having done them, and if one does evil deeds, one will be punished for having done them. This kind of teaching serves the purpose of motivating persons to do good deeds and to avoid doing evil deeds. That is admirable teaching. The world would be a better place if people did more good deeds and fewer evil deeds.

There are a couple of inherent fallacies in these two verses. On the one hand, there is the fallacy that the upright and blameless get rewarded, for often they do not, and on the other hand, there is the fallacy that the wicked and unfaithful receive punishment, for in fact, they frequently go unpunished. Humanity's experience is more complicated than the simplistic teachings recorded in the Bible's book of Proverbs, chapter 2.

I have another gripe with respect to this teaching, for it risks instilling in the student a desire to do good deeds, not because they are honorable, right, and helpful, but for the selfish reason that a reward will be given for doing them. I had rather instill in the student a desire to do good deeds, simply because they are good to do. Doing a good deed is its own reward.

When I compare Proverbs, chapter 2, with the Bible's book of Job, I see a more realistic and nuanced understanding of "good versus evil" presented in the latter.