Don’t envy the wicked when they prosper

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Envying the wicked

Envy comes as a result of comparison. You envy someone because, after having compared yourself to him, you think he has something better than yours, and you would have wished to have what he has. Sometimes, Person A begins to envy Person B because he thinks person B is having or enjoying something that he does not deserve to have or enjoy.

The wicked are those who do not fear the Lord and do things that are contrary to His word, whereas the righteous are those who fear the Lord and live according to His word. There is no good prospect before the wicked so far as the Scriptures are concerned. The wicked shall be cut off from the earth, the years of the wicked shall be shortened, the wicked shall be turned into hell, etc. so the Scriptures say about them. However, it does not mean the wicked cannot have and enjoy good things in life. For a truth, since time immemorial, the wicked have been prospering to an enviable extent. They prosper to such an extent that, as compared to righteousness, wickedness becomes more attractive; such that a person is more tempted to take the wicked course of life than the righteous one, so to say.

The prosperity of the wicked, often than not, becomes a stumbling block in the way of the righteous, in that the righteous man, especially, the not-rich righteous man, sins against God by envying the prosperous wicked man. Moreover, envy does not seem to be the end of it; if the righteous man does not check nor repent fast from his sin of envy, envy will draw forth other negative emotions such as bitterness, regret, taking offense at God, etc. and the righteous man would become demoralized even to the point where his very relationship with God is threatened – threatened in the sense that he is in danger of turning away from the Lord.

Why the righteous envy the prosperity of the wicked

1. The prosperity of the wicked contradicts the expectation of the righteous

Anyone who is a regular Bible reader knows that nothing good is spoken about the wicked. Examples: The Lord hates the wicked, the years of the wicked shall be shortened, the wicked shall be turned into hell, etc. The Bible has lots of such frightening messages against the wicked, yet these same accursed wicked fellows are normally well to do. From the perspective of these Scriptures, it really appears odd that the wicked should ever prosper. Therefore when the wicked and sinners prosper, the righteous people are taken aback, making them complain, worry and envy their prosperity.

2. The righteous think prosperity is exclusively theirs

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, …… But his delight is in the law of the LORD; …. and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalms 1:1-3). The righteous man fears the Lord, lives in obedience to His word and does everything possible to avoid sin. Now Scriptures such as Psalms 1:1-3 promise prosperity to the righteous. However, the righteous man is carried away by such Scriptures to think that prosperity is reserved only for the righteous and never for the wicked. Therefore, the righteous man is jealous to see the wicked sharing in prosperity, thinking that prosperity is exclusively his to have.

3. The righteous think the wicked do not deserve to prosper

Sometimes person A envies person B because he thinks person B is enjoying or having something he does not deserve to enjoy or have. The wicked man is habitually evil; he hurts people, steal, bullies, etc. and such a person deserves nothing but severe punishment. In fact, for the most part, the righteous look forward to seeing the wicked languishing for their sins. Therefore, it does not seem reasonable to the righteous that God should allow the wicked to prosper after all their deeds of sin. Hence the righteous envy the prosperity of the wicked because they think that the wicked do not deserve prosperity, rather, punishment.

Bible verses such as Proverbs 10:22, Job 22:21, Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Kings 2:3, Psalm 1:1-3 make it clear that the good things in life such as prosperity, good health, peace, etc. come from God. If these good things come from God, then why should the wicked who do not fear God enjoy or have any of these good things? Therefore the righteous questions why God should allow the wicked to prosper, seeing that the wicked do not regard God nor think to obey his word.

4. The financial position of the righteous matters

Sometimes, whether the righteous will envy the wicked or not depends largely on his financial position. When a righteous man is impoverished and or struggling financially in his life, he becomes very concerned with the prosperity of the wicked and begins to question why the wicked should prosper when he is suffering; then he sees it to be unfair; and he begins to envy the wicked. We see an example of this situation in the life of Job. When Job became impoverished, he raised concerns about the prosperity of the wicked, recorded in Job 21.

Asaph, the righteous man who was envious of the wicked

A man called Asaph lived in the days of King David. Asaph was no meager person; he was a priest of God most high and a religious man. In those days he served as the chief musician in the house of God, appointed by King David.  He is a classic example of a person who connects envying the wicked to apostasy. Asaph went through an experience in life that he taught it was worth sharing. He confessed – Psalm 73:1-24

Psalm 73

Psalms 73 is a piece of Asaph’s autobiography. Here Asaph wrote about his firsthand experience; that is, what he saw in the society, how he responded to it and his encounter with Divinity. Quite contrary to his expectation, this is Asaph’s testimony of what he claimed to have seen concerning the wicked:

  • The wicked are corrupt, yet they spend their days in prosperity, increase in riches, and have more than what their hearts could wish for; in that their businesses are doing well, they are successful in their endeavors, etc. And by reason of their great wealth, they become powerful. Ps 73:3; Ps 73:8; Ps 73:12
  • The wicked are not in trouble like other men; that is, their families are safe, they do not seem to have anything to fear, and their children are healthy and well. Psalm 73:5
  • The wicked do not seem to go through many struggles in their lifetime as compared to the righteous, in that they easily lay hold on what they need and they are comfortable. Psalm 73:12
  • The wicked are strong and have healthy and good looking bodies, and do not suffer from life-threatening diseases; hence, they grow old before they die. Psalm 73:4
  • The wicked are careless; they can raise up their voices and say any blasphemous thing against God; whereas he, Asaph, was careful of his words, fearing that if he makes any evil utterance, it will bring evil repercussions. Psalm 73:9, Psalm 73:11
  • Asaph also confessed that as for him, God chastises him every day for what he does wrong, yet the wicked who deserve the worse punishment for being habitually sinful seem to get away with it and live in comfort. Psalm 73:14

Since it is taught by the Scriptures that the good things in life such as prosperity (Deuteronomy 8:18), good health, etc. are obtained from God, Asaph, like all righteous men, presumed that prosperity is reserved only for the righteous and not for the wicked. On account of this belief, the righteous man finds everything wrong with the prosperity of the wicked. To their understanding, it is odd that the wicked should prosper in any way. So when Asaph saw the welfare or prosperity of the wicked, he was obsessed with envy to a high degree. Asaph’s envy seems to suggest that the wicked people of his day were prospering in life more than him; hence he envied them sore to the extent that his relationship with God was at risk of being ruined.  

Consequence and dangers of envying the wicked

  1. Regret

In his envy, Asaph regretted all the days of his life that he has struggled hard to live in righteousness before God. He thought to himself that he should never have walked in the path of righteousness, for, after all, the wicked do not seem to suffer any evil for being wicked – they prosper, neither does it look like the righteous gain any advantage in life for being righteous. Asaph confessed this feeling of regret when he said, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency (Psalms 73:13)” Asaph had regretted being a righteous man, thinking he could have been better off as a wicked man. In the same way, envying the wicked can make a Christian feel that he has done a mistake in choosing to serve God, regretting so much. And regret opens doors for more negative feelings to come.

2. Bitterness

In his envy, apart from regret, Asaph was also very hurt. He felt pain in his heart to see that, contrary to his expectation, the wicked man who neither fears God nor walks in His statutes is prospering in life. Asaph confessed his hurt when he said, “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me (Psalm 73:16);” Apart from regret, envying the wicked calls forth bitterness, offense, and a chain of other negative feelings into the life of a Christian

3. Apostasy

In his envy, apart from the regret and the hurt he felt, Asaph made up his mind to apostatize; that is, he wanted to abandon righteousness and join the ranks of the wicked, for, after all, there is much to gain being a wicked man than being a righteous man. “I am done with obeying the Law, I’ll pursue righteousness no more.” he might have said this in his heart. He confessed this decision to apostatize when he said, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped (Psalm 73:2).” With this statement, Asaph meant to say that he nearly apostatized – nearly forsook the Lord.

4. Demoralization, Frustration, and more

When a righteous man loses his focus and turns his attention towards the prosperity of the wicked, he becomes obsessed with it and begins to envy him. In his envy, the righteous man goes through many negative emotions; he becomes frustrated, and then he becomes demoralized, and then he begins to question the fairness of God, and then he takes offense at God, and then he begins to question the very essence of serving God, and then he loses his regard for walking in the path of righteousness, and these negative emotions, gradually, walk him down into apostasy.

God’s intervention

God showed mercy on Asaph and stepped in to save him from apostatizing. God revealed to Asaph to understand the end of the wicked people he was envying. Asaph spoke about this Divine intervention when he said that he went into the sanctuary of God and there he understood the end of the wicked (Psalms 73:17).

What is the end of the wicked like?

Whatever Asaph saw or understood to be the end of the wicked would not be any different from what God has revealed to us through many of His prophets. These are what other men of God have written concerning the end of the wicked and sinner:

“17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalm 9:17 – King David

“These [the wicked] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:46 – Jesus Christ

“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8 – Apostle John

How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. Job 21:17   – Job

Asaph understood at first hand that after the glamor, the bliss, the riches, the fame, etc. the wicked shall be destroyed by the hand of God for their wickedness, and he testified again, saying,

18 Surely thou didst set them [the wicked] in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!  they are utterly consumed with terrors. Psalms 73:18-19. 

Envious Asaph repented fast from the decision to apostatize, upon realizing that all the while that he was envying the wicked, he was acting foolishly and ignorantly for the wicked have so much to suffer here and hereafter such that a short blissful earthly life of fame, riches, comfort, etc. is just a tiny consolation granted him by God.

Some important truths righteous people should bear in mind

It is a mistake to presume that prosperity in earthly things is reserved for only the righteous – wrong! Prosperity is close to the wicked as it is to the righteous, for whereas the righteous is restricted to only fair means of making riches, the wicked has at his disposal more than one means. Since no fear of God is in the wicked, he can choose to use either fair or foul means or a combination of both to prosper.

The wicked prosper, because God, the God of the righteous, has made it so. The Bible says, “… for he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” God is also good to the unrighteous or the evil person or the wicked person as he is to the righteous. And one way of showing that goodness is that He grants them the power to prosper and grant them also to enjoy certain blessings such as good health, long life, happiness, etc. until the day appointed for their destruction is come.

God shall deal with every human being according to His own will and good pleasure. God is sovereign; He makes sovereign choices. If He would allow the wicked to farewell before his destruction comes upon him, what is that to us. Leave the matter of the wicked and sinners to God. Whether the wicked become well to do or not, it is God’s business.

Once Peter asked Jesus a question, saying, “Lord, and what shall this man (John) do?” Then Jesus answered him, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” Likewise, Jesus is telling the righteous that whether the wicked prospers or not is none of his business; its God’s business. For this reason, the righteous man should not expend his time in envy and obsession with the prosperity of the wicked. Only one thing is necessary, which the righteous should not lose sight of it; that is, Jesus says, “Follow thou me.”

What to do to avoid envying the wicked

It is worth noting that envy or envying the wicked can demoralize an upright man and worse yet, it can lead him to apostasy. God, the all-knowing God, knows how the righteous are tempted to envy and feel bitter about the prosperity of the wicked person, and how that envy can lead them to apostasy. Therefore God has dedicated a couple of Bible verses to deal with this sin of envying the wicked. God instructs the righteous person to do these:

  • Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. Psalm 37:1-2
  • Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble. Proverbs 24:1-2
  • Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. Proverbs 3:31
  • Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always. Proverbs 23:17
  • Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. Proverbs 24:19,20

Prosperity is the only consolation of the wicked

I used to be a latter-day Asaph because I was envying the wicked. Then I stumbled upon an audio sermon titled ‘23 Minutes in Hell’ that changed my whole view and feelings about the prosperity of the wicked forever. When I listened to the message, I learned of the extreme state of torment that the wicked and sinners suffer after death, driving me to feel sympathy for them. Today, I am happy when I see the wicked in prosperity and I am glad when I consider their riches, for, at least, these earthly things are but a small consolation for the unimaginable suffering that awaits them in hell.

Conclusion

Today, there are two categories of human beings in the world viewed from the Christian perspective. We have Christians and non-Christians or unbelievers. Today, righteousness is a status bestowed only by Jesus Christ and Jesus bestows it only upon those who have faith in him. Therefore, Christians are the later-day righteous people like Asaph. Poverty and prosperity are possible to any of these categories, the Christian and the unbeliever. Actually, there are rich Christians and there are poor Christians, and there are rich unbelievers and there are poor unbelievers. Needless to say, as it was in time past, Christians, especially, the not-rich Christians, turn to envy the welfare of the wicked and sinners. They do envy the wicked because of their riches, beauty, fame, worldly success, talent, academic excellence, etc. God, through the Scriptures, instructs Christians not to envy the wicked.

Food for thought

  • Who are the wicked?
  • Personally, do you also testify from your observation that the wicked prosper in life?
  • How do you feel about the prosperity of the wicked?
  • Have you envied the wicked before? if yes, how did you manage the situation when you envied the wicked?

Related Posts:

What does Proverbs 24:19-20 mean?
What is the meaning of Psalm 73:3?
What is the meaning of Matthew 27:15-18?
What is the meaning of 'I was envious at the foolish'?
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