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Billy Joel once sang, “Only the good die young.” Followers of Jesus know that line is full of errors, yet there’s a glimpse of truth in it. History and Scripture confirm that sometimes the righteous do die young, while the wicked seem to flourish. Abel, Uriah, Stephen, William Tyndale, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Elliot—all examples of godly men cut down too soon. Meanwhile, many who live wickedly prosper well into old age.

This reality is hard for religious people to swallow. Shouldn’t righteousness protect us from suffering? Shouldn’t good behavior guarantee blessing? The Preacher of Ecclesiastes insists otherwise. In Ecclesiastes 7:15–29, he shows us that pursuing righteousness “under the sun”—apart from God’s grace—is a dead end. Why? Because your righteousness cannot protect you, and your righteousness cannot perfect you.

Your Righteousness Cannot Protect You

The Preacher observes: “There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing” (Ecclesiastes 7:15). Life simply doesn’t work like a vending machine, where we insert obedience and receive blessings in return. Sometimes the wicked thrive while the righteous suffer.

That’s why he warns against being “overly righteous” (v. 16) or “overly wicked” (v. 17). He’s not suggesting moderation in morality, as if a little wickedness is okay. Instead, he’s warning us against extremes—thinking righteousness will shield us from suffering, or that wickedness guarantees escape from judgment.

Neither path works. Personal righteousness won’t protect you from tragedy. Wickedness won’t keep you safe either. The true path is to fear God: “It is good that you should take hold of this… for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them” (v. 18).

Fearing God means living in reverent dependence on Him, not trying to manipulate Him with our behavior. God is not bound by our efforts. He is sovereign and free, and He calls us to trust Him in both joy and suffering.

Your Righteousness Cannot Perfect You

Even if righteousness could offer some measure of earthly protection, it still can’t make us perfect. As the Preacher bluntly states: “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Paul echoes the same truth in Romans 3: “None is righteous, no, not one.”

Why can’t our righteousness perfect us?

  1. Because Sin Is Pervasive.
    The Preacher reminds us not to take every insult to heart, because we’ve all cursed others too (vv. 21–22). Our careless words expose the sin lodged deep within us. Sin isn’t a surface-level problem—it runs through every part of our lives.

  2. Because Sin Is Enslaving.
    In verses 25–26, sin is pictured as a woman whose heart is snares and whose hands are fetters. Like Lady Folly in Proverbs, sin lures us in, traps us, and destroys us. Even Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was ensnared by sin through his many wives, who turned his heart away from the Lord. If Solomon couldn’t free himself, what chance do we have?

  3. Because Sin Is Inherited.
    Finally, the Preacher looks back to creation: “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (v. 29). Adam’s fall corrupted the whole human race. We don’t sin and then become sinners; we sin because we already are sinners. Sin is our inheritance, passed down from our first father.

No matter how disciplined, religious, or moral you are, your righteousness can’t cleanse pervasive sin, break enslaving sin, or erase inherited sin.

A Better Righteousness

So where does that leave us? If righteousness under the sun is a dead end, is Billy Joel right—should we just laugh with the sinners and abandon hope?

The Preacher leaves us longing for something more, and the gospel delivers it. There is a righteousness that can protect us and will perfect us—not ours, but Christ’s.

Jesus lived the only truly righteous life, yet He died young and violently. But His death was no accident—it was the plan of God to save sinners. On the cross, the great exchange took place: our sin was credited to Jesus, and His righteousness was credited to us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This righteousness is not earned but received by faith. It protects us—not from every trial in this life, but from eternal judgment. And it perfects us—not instantly, but progressively as God sanctifies us, and finally when Christ returns and sin is no more.

That’s why Paul could say, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… not having a righteousness of my own… but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:8–9).

Where Are You Looking?

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes wants to rescue us from wasted lives—from trusting in the dead-end road of self-righteousness.

Your righteousness cannot protect you. Your righteousness cannot perfect you. But Christ’s righteousness can.

So where are you looking today? Are you trusting in your own performance, your morality, your religion? Or are you trusting in the righteousness of Christ?

Only His righteousness can give you joy under the sun and hope beyond it.