Psalm 73

In case you can't tell from my recent posts, I have been reading through the Psalms. Some of them are so relevant and applicable to my life, and to our culture in general, that I am left in awe of how true it is that God's word is living and active. (Hebrews 4:12)

I have literally underlined almost the entire 73rd Psalm in my Bible, with notes like "Wow!" and "our culture to a T" written out in the margin. The Psalm is written by a man who has struggled with how unfair life seems. He sees wicked people prosper, living lives of ease and richness, oppressing those around them, and seeming to get away with all of it.

Here is how he describes these wicked, but prosperous people:

Psalm 73:4-9

"They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
they are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth."

Yikes! These people are: prideful, violent, callous, full of iniquity, evil, conceited, scoffers, speakers of malice, arrogant, oppressive and boastful. And what reward do they receive for living such lives? Pretty ample reward it would seem. They have no problems, they are healthy and strong, free of burdens and human ills. That hardly seems fair does it?

I see people who fit this description almost every day of my life. If not in person, there are plenty of them on TV. Gorgeous, gifted, wealthy, selfish people. People who seem to have everything, and deserve none of it. I, like the Psalmist, used to really get hung up on what seemed to be totally unfair.

Here is how he describes the contrast in verses 12-14

"This is what the wicked are like--
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning."

There you have it. The wicked seem to get everything, those who are innocent and pure in heart only get a raw deal. The Psalmist didn't like this contrast much either, in fact, he tells us in verse 2 that it almost caused him to slip and lose his foothold. In other words, lose faith in God.

Ahh, but then a change takes place. Our Psalmist does a very wise thing. Instead of relying on his own sense of right and wrong, he seeks to understand the situation from God's point of view. I love the way it is described in verses 16-17:

"When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny."

He enters the sanctuary of God, and then he understands what the real outcome for the seemingly prosperous wicked will be. He goes on to describe it in verses 18-20, and believe me, it is not a pretty picture. You certainly would not be envious of these people anymore.

So what does this mean for me, and for you? Are we supposed to take some kind of sick pleasure in knowing that wicked people will eventually "get what's coming to them?" Hardly. The idea of anyone perishing should never cause us to gloat. It should cause us to feel exactly the opposite, grieved and stricken at what awaits them. But that can be hard to do if you look at them through the eyes of this world.

Instead, try to see them as they really are. Not rich and healthy and beautiful, but impoverished and barren and doomed to destruction. The sexy blond driving a convertible Mercedes? A wasting corpse. The star athlete with the world as his oyster? A shriveled beggar covered with sores. If you can see them through those eyes, you will not struggle with envy. You will feel exactly what you should feel--great compassion. And hopefully, that compassion will motivate you to reach out, and offer them true prosperity, and true life.

Psalm 73: 23-26

"Yet I am always with you;
You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."