Do This When You Get Upset That Bad People Are Getting Away With It [Psalm 73]

in
 

Psalm 73

 

There is nothing new under the sun.

Psalm 73 is about a perennial complaint:

Why does it seem like bad people are getting away with doing bad stuff?

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.

There’s nothing new.

 
 

If you fixate on the seeming impunity of the wicked, it will make you crazy with anger.

What should you do?

 
 

The psalmist takes his confusion and complaint to the Temple, and through worship, he no longer feels so angry and discouraged:

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.

It’s not that we get all our questions answered; rather, it’s that we get a sense that God sees what’s going on and that the wicked will ultimately be held to account.

So, when you find yourself getting upset because it seems as if bad people are getting away with bad stuff, make a practice of taking those concerns to God in worship.