No Rest for the "Wicked"

There is a song titled "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by a band called Cage The Elephant, and while I don't normally listen to that genre of music, I was given pause for thought as I considered the sociological implications of the lyrics. In the song, the singer is propositioned by a prostitute and then mugged a few minutes later. In both cases, the singer asked why they were doing what they were doing, specifically asking "Why d'you do this to yourself?" and "What made you want to live this kind of life?", respectively. The prostitute and the mugger both gave him the same response, the chorus:

"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked

Money don't grow on trees

I got bills to pay

I got mouths to feed

There ain't nothing in this world for free

I know I can't slow down

I can't hold back

Though you know

I wish I could

Oh, no there ain't no rest for the wicked

Until we close our eyes for good"

I have a lot of strong feelings and opinions about these situations and how they're described, and I'm really not sure which ones to blog about. I suppose I could blog about how poverty leads to sin (and the related importance of charity work and charitable donations), but I don't want to demonize those who are down on their luck and short on good options. I'd like to think that I wouldn't be so quick to label people as "wicked" for being so short on resources that they're willing to commit sin to get them. These unfortunate people need sympathy and assistance, not condemnation.

That said, I must admit that what they do in order to survive or escape their poverty is, in a vacuum, sinful. It is morally wrong to steal from people and to engage in extramarital physical intimacy. Of course, they have compelling reasons to do it, but those actions are still morally wrong.

But where does that leave them? Are they sinners for engaging in sinful behavior in order to survive, or are they justified by their circumstances and by having few, if any, other viable options? I think they are technically sinners, but so are we. Sure, we may not be committing sins of that nature, but we all have sins that we need to repent of, sins we need to have forgiven. If we call muggers and prostitutes "wicked" for doing what it takes to survive, we should also admit that, in our own ways, we are wicked, too.

No one is above needing the Lord's forgiveness, and no one is below getting it. No matter whom we may categorize as "righteous" or "wicked," we all need Jesus, and no one, no matter what they've done or why they've done it, is beyond the reach of God's love.