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Writer's pictureBible Brian

Psalm 73 and the prosperity of the wicked


One question that often puts people off is "why do bad things happen to good people?" The answer to that is fairly simple: They don't. At the end of the day, God only sees two types of people: Bad people, and bad people who have put their faith in His redemptive power. There is no such thing as a "good" person, because all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).


Psalm 73 looks at the other side of the question. Why do good things happen to bad people? Specifically, why do the faithful have to sit back and watch while the wicked continue to prosper? The Psalmist draws a powerful conclusion. There is no point in envying their apparent success.


There comes a time in every man's life when there is no time left in that man's life. We all die; the wicked, and the righteous. For the righteous, that's great news! Of course, we don't want to die, but what we do want is on the other side. A restored relationship with the God who saves us, never to sin again, and thus never to perish. Our sins are covered, the rift is closed, the poorest man in the Kingdom of God will outshine the richest man to ever walk the earth.


But what of the wicked? Can they say the same? No! Nothing they have gained in this life will follow them through to the next. Not a penny of wealth. Not a slither of food. Not a drop of water. God Himself is against them, and the mere fact they live so long is proof of His mercies, even to those who scorn Him.

So rather than envy the wicked, as the Psalmist confesses he once did, we ought to pity them. If we cannot give them the Gospel (which we should desperately try to do), they are not cheating us, they are cheating themselves. Jesus once asked what good it is for a man to gain the world, but lose his soul? Jesus overcame the world to purchase our souls. In Him, we are free. Now that, my brethren, is the best good thing to have ever happened to bad people.

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