What does the following quote really mean-"No good deed goes unpunished"?

Question

I have heard this statement for many many years but can't figure out if its a good thing or a bad thing. In Judaism there is a term Mitzvah, a good deed, a kindness to another person. Any help would be appreciated. Shalom

Answer 1

It is a somewhat cynical expression meaning that when we try to do good it often ends up bad for us. Like when you give CPR to a stranger who is unconscious in the street and he sues you for cracking his ribs. Or when you help a new person on the job and they turn around and use their new skills to try to take your job. Things like that.

Answer 2

I'm sure that the above people are correct, but I know it was also used in the Musical Wicked (about the witches of oz) One of the witches' lives was completely ruined by trying to do the right thing so she turns "wicked" and sings a song in which she says "no good deed goes unpunished, that's my new creed."  

Sometimes doing the right thing may have unseen consequences  because of the evil in the world and the right thing can be seen as evil in someone else's eyes.  

Answer 3

It means that life is so unfair that one is more likely to get into some sort of trouble than be rewarded if one attempts to do a good deed.

It was attributed to American financier John P. Grier, banker Andrew W. Mellon, and writer Clare Boothe Luce, but its ultimate origin is unknown.