Ecclesiastes 4:1-4
Oppression is more than just suffering. Suffering can come from many sources, but oppression comes from other people. Knowing that our suffering is the result of the wickedness of others makes it harder to bear. Some men are so evil we wonder if we should consider them human. Yet it is true, even the most evil men are still human. Sin has corrupted their humanity to the extremes of wickedness, but their power is what enables them to become oppressors. Hitler working as a ditch digger could never have caused the suffering that he did as a ruler of a country. Power in and of itself is not evil; but power in the hands of an evil man multiplies the suffering that man causes.
Righteous men and women must have the courage to stand up against evil. If the righteous do not oppose wickedness when it is weak, they will be unable to oppose it once it becomes powerful.
When we consider the suffering that takes place under evil dictators, it is possible to understand how a victim might wish they were dead. We can understand how a victim of torture could believe it would have been better if they had never been born. If God was unknowable and did not care, then Solomon would be right, but God is knowable; he has revealed himself in his son Jesus Christ.
Today Christians around the world are still suffering oppression, but they have a comforter. No oppressor can separate a Christian from Christ’s love. The evil oppressor may have earthly power, but Christians have a heavenly hope. It may appear as if evil has the upper hand, but evil cannot win. The oppressors may kill this mortal body, but they are powerless to take our eternal life. Through the love of Christ, in all things Christians will be more than conquerors. Ultimately, in Christ the oppressed become the victorious.
Truth from the Word 