Why do the Wicked Prosper?

It is, perhaps, a long quote, but necessary. Written by Asaph:

¹ Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. ² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. ³ For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. ⁵ They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. ⁷ Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. ⁸ They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. ⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. ¹⁰ Therefore His people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. ¹¹ And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" ¹² Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

¹³ All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. ¹⁴ For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. ¹⁵ If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, ¹⁷ until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. ¹⁸ Truly You set them in slippery places; You make them fall to ruin. ¹⁹ How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! ²⁰ Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when You rouse Yourself, You despise them as phantoms.

²¹ When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, ²² I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward You. ²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷ For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You. ²⁸ But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works (Psa 73).

In view of current events, in view of the election outcome, in view of the tragic illustration of America's stupidity and sin, in view of God's judgment on this country, I thought this entire passage was quite illuminating.

We tend to think of "the rich" as "them". It's that 1%. It's those really, really rich guys. You know. In truth, America is "the rich". Our poorest people outrank most of the world in income and comfort. And we tend to think of "the wicked" as "them". You know, the rapists and murderers, the rich and the powerful, those types. This, of course, falls horribly short of God's definition. The dictionary defines "wicked" as "evil by nature and in practice." Biblically that would include all of us; some of us simply have the benefit of assigned righteousness not our own. But as a group, "the wicked" would encompass all who make a practice of sin, who stand against God's moral values in favor of their own. Putting this together, then, America as a whole stands as the rich wicked. As a nation we've rejected or diminished God's values such as marriage, family, and human life. We've embraced perversion, theft, even fiscal responsibility. As a nation we've moved away from God and toward the State as god. As a nation, we are the ones Asaph wrote about.

Americans in general don't have guilt. They are known, instead, as "fat". They don't seem to suffer the troubles others do. Pride, to Americans, is a virtue. Decade by decade they multiply their follies. Oppression is threatened and malice against those who disagree is encouraged. I myself have almost heard the very words from them, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" Behold, America. "Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches."

The danger is in envying them rather than praying for them. Why do the wicked seem to prosper? And why shouldn't we? What value is there in being good if they can get ahead without it? Only the good die young, right? Seems like too much work and too little reward.

The cure is Asaph's cure. It is twofold. First, "I discerned their end." Isn't it pointed that he says they are "swept away utterly by terrors"? We need to see the slippery spot in which wicked, rich America stands and recognize that God will not endure it forever. Second, "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Recognizing that true value, true worth, true reward, true purpose is not found in comfort or pleasure. It is found in God alone. It cannot be found anywhere else.

In light of current events, for me there is great comfort in difficult times knowing "I am continually with You; You hold my right hand." It may not be pleasant, but it is comforting.