Life is Not Fair?

Have you ever heard the quote: "life is not fair"? It's a pretty popular saying. Then why do human beings try so hard to be good and honest and trustworthy and worthy when the reward they're striving so hard for might not even be theirs?

Let's rephrase the question: Why do I try so hard in a life that I see as no more than a never ending storm? Why do I try so hard when the shelter I put up has a leaky ceiling and  the more I patch it up, the more holes it acquires? After all, nothing I do will gain results.... or will it?
So, then why should good be rewarded and bad be punished if even when  I am better in nature than a neighbor, his life is going well and mine is failing? Effort doesn't seem to matter.
Here's a theory: we are conditioned. Humans have been brought up to be good by a generation that generally believes in the idea that God will reward us for being on the path of righteousness. My mother and father both believe in this idea and if trace back to the origins of such beliefs, I guarantee it will lead to their own parents, my grandparents. I agree not all people believe in the Almighty God but even atheists believe, to a certain degree, that "what you put into the universe is what you get out of it". Here's an example of the good old conditioning method via our very own Santa Claus: "He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake".
Personally, I believe that the word "good" should be the real question. Really, what does "good" mean? Do you realize that the word "good" really is just a term we humans created to define those who abide by the universal code of human ethics?
If such is the case, then humans should all try to be good. after all the moral code has been put in place for a reason: to avoid chaos. In order to be civilized, something has to be given up: freedom. Then if you ask why civilization is important, I would reply by saying: "it's an inevitable sacrifice in human race for the sake of advancement".
So basically, good should be rewarded and bad should be punishment to keep the golden rules alive and followed. Human beings should act ethically and follow these rules so that the world can stay civilized and move forward  as a result they can get all those shiny things every Christmas. So in a way, the Santa Claus rule of thumb makes sense.
Well, keeping that explanation in mind, why does the Bible disagree with us? The Hebrews, after all, used the Bible as a framework for their own government. God even gave us the Ten Commandments to follow to be essentially "good". Then why was a "good" man like Job punished?
My brother and I had an interesting conversation on this subject Monday night. We somehow ended up on the topic of God and the flood. When I mentioned that the flood was probably a real event mentioned in several texts found around the Mediterranean, my brother asked if God would be likely to punish the human race again. I mentioned the covenant, and my brother replied, "he could always used earthquakes or, better yet, hurricanes". As much as his parallel to the scholastic discussion in humanities class amused me, it got me thinking. What if God did punish us again during the Small Ice Age or the Bubonic Plague or the mysterious  fall of both the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations? If he did, why did he do so?
While I was discussing such topics with my brother, we came came to the conclusion that God probably saw   a greater good in the future that is just difficult for the human race to understand. That was enough to satisfy my brother but I wasn't convinced. I thought long and hard and finally, I gave up... then I realized:
It's simple: The human code of ethics is for humans. They are rules we follow to keep our society on its feet. Meanwhile, God is a divine essence. How could we expect him to abide to them?
That's what Job is trying to explain to us. We're human. How could we expect to keep God at our level? Truth is, no matter how hard you try, you can't expect to understand Him. He is called God our LORD for a reason.


BTW: Enjoy your last chance to savor the simple amusement of a date with three matching numerals like "12/12/12"!