Psalm 73: 1-14
“Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish.
They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, ‘How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.”
This Psalm was written by Asaph, one of the chief musicians for King David. He wrote Psalm 73-83. In this Psalm, he recounts for us his observations of the wicked and their lives here on Earth. So, back in David’s day, about 1,000 years before Jesus walked on Earth, Asaph was able to observe that life Is not fair. This is a mantra we often hear from teenagers and the like about life. But if we adults, and yes, we Christian adults, were to be honest, we too often cry out to the Lord that life is not fair.
Asaph lays out his case, and he tells us in verse 1 that his ‘feet almost stumbled’; when he observed that life is not fair, it almost caused him to question why he served the Lord. Why would he obey and submit to the word and ways of God if the wicked seemed to prosper? This can happen to us as well, and sadly, it has happened to too many Christians along the way. Life, yes, even the Christian life, is not fair. God never promised it would be, and neither can anyone else. The only part in this life that we can be guaranteed of is the very first statement that Asaph makes: God is good to the pure in heart.
Asaph saw how rich the wicked are; he saw that even their deaths were peaceful, they had lots of food, they did not seem to have the worries like other men, and had more than one could even dream of having. Today, our world is not much different. We see that many evil people have become very wealthy. They have so much money that they, their children, and maybe even their children’s children will be rich without any worries. Some people have so much money that they have to invent ways to invest it, give it away, and use it. Now we would be okay if ‘good’ people had these kinds of riches, I think. But when we see evil people getting ‘filthy rich,’ it eats at us.
I recall a documentary about Pablo Escobar, and the commentator mentioned that at the height of his drug trading, he was making more money per day than General Electric, which was the largest multination corporation in the world.
There is the movie “American Made” with Tom Cruise that portrays the life of Barry Seal, a pilot who ended up working for the cartels and the US DEA at the same time; he made so much money, he ran out of land to bury the cash. These are just two of the names, but there are hundreds we can mention who had more money than most of us could dream of, and yet, they were evil persons. Many of them died a horrible death, and in the case of Escobar, he spent a lot of his life being hunted by various governments in the world.
Asaph also observed that these folks seemed to have an arrogance about them. They defied God and almost dared God to judge them. But it would appear that they could go on and on, abated in their evil. Why? Where was God? Did He not see? Why would He allow these arrogant people to live? They just seemed to get richer and richer, their lives easier and easier, and it is NOT fair.
Asaph and many, even I, have looked around us at the prosperity of evil men and wondered why. Why do we try to live godly lives? Why not just do a bit of evil, not too much evil, just a bit, and get some wealth. Think of all we can do with money. We can give more to missions, help repair the church building, make life easier for my family, and on and on.
Asaph goes on to tell us that he went to the sanctuary of God, the Tabernacle (remember, Solomon built the Temple), and there he was able to see their end. God is not blind; rather, he is gracious. God is not indifferent; rather, he is merciful even to evil men. God is just, and one day, sooner than they think, this life will come to an end, and then they will have an eternity of torment to endure because they defied the God of Heaven.
God is not fair; He is just. So, don’t get discouraged when evil men prosper; don’t get down when evil men seem to have a better life here; their kids eat and live well; they never lack or have to penny pinch. Without Jesus as their Savior, their riches mean nothing, and their eternity is going to be Hell.
Look at Psalm 73:18-20, “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.”
Asaph repented of his shortsightedness. He understood that he was thinking as a mere human and not as a redeemed human. We have all we need in Jesus for this life. And, while we may not be rich in man’s terms, we have more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.
In verses 23-24, Asaph rejoiced that God knew him, that God guided him, and that one-day God will bring him to glory. These are true, eternal riches that no one, no government, and not even death can take from us. Life is not fair; thank God!! One day we will get to meet Asaph and maybe even chat about his Psalms.
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario