Why do the Worst People Seem to Prosper

INTRODUCTION

You ever wonder why sometimes bad people do better than you?

They have no scruples, yet they prosper and do much better

Some may feel that that is unfair

Tonight we’ll see, from scripture why it only seems that way

There is a Temptation to Envy or Loose Patience

Cheater close deals

Liars get Promotions

The one who callously humiliates other live in luxury

It seems like the person without any principles is literally handed a perfect life.

At the work place, people climb past you via flattery or manipulation

You stayed late, did things the honest way, worked hard.

Homelife

Psalmist Asaph

A. Proclamation of Praise

Psalm 73:1 ESV

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

B. Declaration of Envy

Psalm 73:2–3 ESV

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

C. Observation of Wrongness

Psalm 73:4–12 ESV

For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches

D. Invalidation of Faith

Psalm 73:13–15 ESV

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

E. Recognition of Truth

Psalm 73:16–17 ESV

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

F. Realization of Position

Psalm 73:18–20 ESV

Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

E. Rededication of Faith

Psalm 73:21–26 ESV

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

Does Feeling this way Mean You’ve Failed as a Believer?

Does this mean that God has stopped working on your behalf?

Psalm 37:7 ESV

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!

Ecclesiastes 8:11–12 ESV

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.

We have to learn to be still

In a world rewards the loudest reaction and the fastest comeback, stillness can feel like weakness

Lamentations 3:25–26 ESV

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.