Dont Envy Evildoers

                    

Shall the imperial eagle, whose undazzled eye drinks in the splendours of a cloudless sun, envy the worm that never rose an inch beyond its native dust? Shall the sun itself envy the flickering rush-light which the feeblest breeze can extinguish? Shall the heaving ocean, bearing on its bosom the richest merchandise and reflecting from its deep blue eye the glories of the firmament, envy the little summer pool, which a passing cloud has poured into a foot-print?

Psalm 37 was written by David when he was an old man (Ps.37:25). It gives us the wisdom of an aged man. He addresses a question that has plagued the people of God in every age and that question is why do the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous suffer? This same problem is a theme in Psalm 73 and the book of Job. Why do those who care nothing of God seem to prosper while the righteous suffer?

Shouldn't the wicked have all the problems and the righteous have all the good things? Why does God let Chinese tyrants live to a ripe old age while godly pastors languish for years in slave labor camps or die prematurely? Why does a faithful man of God contract a terminal illness in the midst of an effective ministry? Why does God give a wicked couple many healthy children while a prayerful godly couple never gets any?

Job wondered “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. Their homes are safe and free from fear…Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry…  They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre. They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?… One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, well nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good.  Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both” (Job 21:7-26).

When we look around, we see people living confidently in their sin, seemingly without consequence. A person who believes in God may struggle to make sense of why their life is filled with difficulty and those who are wicked are successful and powerful. When he looks at the apparent success of those who choose evil, it can be tempting to think that the path of the righteous is foolish.

David wrote Psalm 37 to share his insights on this problem. He wrote to those who are watching the prosperity of the wicked and are tempted to think that it is better to join the "dark side" rather than remain faithful to God. The psalm reflects the wisdom he had gleaned from years of walking with God. In Psalm 37:1-4 he wrote “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb”. 

Three times in the Psalm David says “do not to fret”. Do not fret because of those who are evil (v.1). Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes (v.7). Do not fret it leads only to evil (v.8). It is common for believers in their hours of adversity to think themselves harshly dealt with when they see persons who have no fear of God and who live contrary to his word rejoicing in abundant prosperity.

David’s advice is” do not to envy evildoers (37:1). Envy speaks of a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another. To be envious means to have intense negative feelings over another’s achievements or success. We naturally become envious of the rich and great; and when we are conscious that we have been more righteous than they, envy and frustration can sets in.

The righteous become envious because some evildoers seem to be "getting away with" their wrongs. But often the reason they don’t want evildoers to prosper is not that they abhor the sin committed, but that secretly they wish that they could be free to do the same things and get the same results. David tells the godly not to be filled with envy the wicked.

Asaph was bothered by the prosperity of the wicked. He nearly gave up hope in God’s goodness when he envied and fretted over the success of evildoers. He describes his painful and injurious process in Psalm 73. He says "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong (vv.2-5).

The wicked are always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted and every morning brings new punishments…When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin(vv.12-17). 

We can envy the freedom of the wicked who get to do whatever they want to do without fear of God’s disapproval. The Christian faith stipulates a way to live. There are commands and principles to follow. God's commandments are for our good. They all originate in the heart of a God who loves us perfectly. And even while we know this is the right and best way to live, it still restricts us from doing many of those things that our sinful hearts desire.

We can bemoan the many opportunities we have to decline. We can look with longing at those who get to enjoy much pleasure without the smallest qualm of conscience. Sometimes the wicked prosper financially and we can envy all they have and own. There are many possessions we will not have and many dreams we will not fulfil because our faith makes it impossible.

Nothing good comes from letting envy fester in our hearts. Envy takes away our peace and destroys our health. Proverbs 14:30 says” a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones (Prov.14:30).Solomon encourages us “do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out” (Prov.24:19-20).

James says, “Who is wise…Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility…But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:13-17).

When we are envious of the wicked, we become just like them. But when we let go of our jealous indignation, our outlook shifts back to the eternal perspective where our trusting eyes of faith are firmly fixed on God. When you are tempted to fret because of evildoers remember, “the light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out”(Prov.13:9). The path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day (Prov. 4:18).

The believer has a future and a hope (Jer.29:11) the wicked do not. For this reason, we should not get all worked up and fret because of evildoers. If we do, we reveal our spiritual short-sightedness and lack of trust in the integrity and faithfulness of God. If we fix our thoughts on God and not the fleeting fortune of the wicked, if we trust in the Lord, he will keep our hearts in perfect peace (Isa.26:3)).

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.  God is on His throne controlling all things. One reason we fret when we see evil men getting away with their schemes is that we are assuming that we know how to run the world better than God does. We need to remember that God has the sovereign right to deal with evildoers in His time and way.

Don’t envy the evil doers, you may be envying the very acts and deeds that will earn them their everlasting torment. Solomon encourages us “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Prov. 23:17-18). The wicked are not to be envied because their success is only temporary. Any satisfaction they enjoy is here today and gone tomorrow.

Chances are that you have struggled with this problem from time to time. Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t pay to be good. It can be frustrating to feel that you have been passed by unworthy people in the great race of life. As long as we play the comparison game, our lives will be filled with envy, anger and frustration. Do not fret when evildoers experience success because such people have no hope of a bright future.