Does it sometimes seem like bad people have all the good stuff? They get rich. They have cushy lives and everything they want is theirs, even if they have to break the backs of the poor to have it. Believer, you do not have to want what they have. What we have is so much better. Verses 1-4 read,
“Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Exodus 20:17 tells us,
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
Those evil people do not have eternal life. All the joy they will ever experience will be during their 120 years on earth, and most of them won’t ever get to a full 120. David encourages us, not to concern ourselves with all they have but instead continue trusting God, living the life He has ordained for us and remaining faithful. He says that when we enjoy our relationship with The Lord, He’ll give us the desires of our hearts.
So does that make you ask why you aren’t driving a Maserati, living in a 16 room mansion with a super-model spouse and 2.3 perfect children? Are those really the desires of your heart if you are seeking God with all your heart? The desires of the heart of a person who delights or relishes, savors, and basks in The Lord doesn’t seek worldly material satisfaction. She seeks a closer relationship with God. She wants to be more like Jesus. She would like to commune closely with The Holy Spirit. She yearns for the Kingdom of God to be bigger. She desires God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven. And our Loving Father fulfills those wishes gladly and plentifully for His children who truly appreciate the greatness of it.
If we don’t yet have that full Spirit filled, Jesus glorifying life, David says, don’t worry, commit yourself to The Lord, stay faithful, and wait for Him. He will make you more like Jesus and He will not only align your will and His but fulfill that will. Verses 5-7 put it like this,
“Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!”
We do not have to stoop to hurting other people to get material gain. We don’t ever have to envy the wicked. We should really pity them. They only have this lifetime to enjoy, we have eternity. They only have themselves to count on, we have The Lord God Almighty. David tells us not to bother getting angry. He says not to throw wrath out the window. The acts of those people will be punished, they will be cut off from The Lord eternally when they die. But we will have eternity to bask in His love and worship Him. We won’t even remember the lost. Their lives will be as if they never happened. (Verses 8-11).
The wicked hate us. They judge us as hypocrites and constantly accuse us of being judgmental. They do that because their moral codes are based on lies, they don’t know any better. While they attack and constantly try to hurt us as they charge us with hatred and prejudice, we don’t have to fight back or defend, because God’s got this. We don’t have to fight them because we know that even through their schemes, assaults, and hatred, God loves them and wants them to know Him. We can love them and pity them because if they never humble themselves to acknowledge what Christ did for them, they will die and go to Hell forever separated from the perfect redeeming love of God.
There is nothing to be envious of. We do not have to covet what they have, because it is all temporary. We can revel in the greatness of what we have in Jesus. Verses 16-20 read,
“Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.”
As long as we put our trust in God rather than money, as long as we lean on the Lord’s strength rather than our own, as long as we have faith in Jesus’ righteousness instead of our feeble attempts we do not need to covet the wealth or power of men. This life is short. It is temporary. It is a tiny speck in the eternal timeline of God.
There is hope for the lost as long as they breathe. They can turn to Jesus, they can repent, and they can have the hope of eternity. How will they ever know unless our lives exemplify our Lord? Verses 27-31 read,
“Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.”
Our concern with the wicked should not be with why they have “everything.” We know they don’t, because they do not have Jesus. They watch us, they look for any chance to prove us evil. Because they keep so close an eye on us, we can let our lives be a testimony to the greatness, goodness, and love of God. It isn’t we who should envy them, it is they who should want what we have. Verses 32-34 put it this way,
“The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.”
The wicked may be at war with us, but our war is not with them, it is with Satan. The Lord of Hosts, Jesus Christ leads the fight. We are safe against every attack in Him, our refuge. He already won the war and one day, Satan and all those who follow him, ignorantly or not will perish with him. Verses 37-40 say,
“Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.”
What are the desires of your heart? Do you want your children to be known for their faith? Do you want The Kingdom of God to expand? Do you want to be like Jesus? Do you want your life to be pleasing to The Lord? God will give you all that and more. That is so much better than a mansion built on the backs of the poor. Eternal life begins now and it surpasses the temporary pleasures of this world. Don’t hate the evil, instead pity them and love them enough to follow Jesus and be like Jesus. They have nothing worth your envy. You have everything worth theirs.