Tue, 29 August, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 37:1-2

¹ 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.

Here’s something that is easier said than done: Don’t worry about evildoers. Don’t envy them. When you see them prosper in their evil, don’t wish it was you that was prospering like that. Not so easy, is it? But that is the David’s words for us today.

What do we learn from this?

In David’s day, there were wicked people who flourished. Their evil didn’t seem to catch up with them, and all that they did turned to gold for them. David saw it, and realized the very real temptation to envy them. Things aren’t so different today, are they?

If you are trying to obey God, and it is costing you, it is very hard to see people who openly flaunt God’s law, yet don’t seem to pay any price. In fact, those who try to obey are often the ones who are penalized. How hard it is to not envy the wicked for their success.

But, we must not envy them. Though they seem to prosper, they are flourishing like grass.

David uses a familiar picture. When the conditions are right, grass grows quickly. In the heat of summer, when there is plenty of rain, grass grows so fast you can hardly keep up with mowing your yard. But, all of the sudden, the rain stops, and in the dry heat of late summer, the lawn turns brown and withers. It becomes dormant. It no longer is growing, but rather has all but died.

That’s what the wicked are like. They prosper for a while. But suddenly, their fortunes will turn, and they will fade and wither, like grass. They have no stability in themselves, and they can’t withstand a change in fortune. They have nothing of substance to base their life upon, and so they will ultimately fall away.

Don’t envy the wicked. Their prosperity will not last, and they will eventually have to pay the price for their wickedness.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Those who have lived their lives for their own wickedness and pleasure might live their lives in luxury. They might enjoy themselves and never think of their eternal destiny. But when they die, they will face God and stand accountable for their sins. They have rejected Jesus Christ and His provision for their salvation, and instead have just lived for their own pleasure. They have ignored their conscience that tells them they aren’t right with God. They haven’t sought after God and His righteousness. They have not come to God for His substitute for their sins. Therefore they will spend eternity is hell.

The only way to avoid such an end is to repent of your sins, and turn to God by trusting in Jesus Christ as your own Savior. He is the only way you can be right with God. Only through faith in Jesus Christ can you avoid having your own life end like grass burned in an eternal fire.

For all those who are in Jesus Christ, you have been saved from the wrath of God and your future is bright. You will spend eternity in the felicity of God’s favor and grace. From this perspective, you have nothing to envy of the wicked who will suffer eternal damnation. The little good they have now is nothing compared to their future. Don’t envy them. Pity them and bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ.