How should we view the prosperity of the wicked?

“That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.” (Psalms 92:7)

                The question an elder asked me weeks before he went to heaven was, ‘Why does the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?’  Knowing that this elder liked to think deeply, I think he had been contemplating this question for over 80 years.  Even if he didn't, the sure fact is that when his the final ending point of life came close, he had a lot of trouble with this problem.  Did you ever struggle with this question?  Did you ever struggle with this question ‘Why does the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer’?  Regarding the suffering of the righteous, we must have heard many times the words of grace saying that we will participate in Jesus' suffering.  But do you know how we should accept the prosperity of the wicked?

                Psalms 92:7 is the word of God that tells us how to view the prosperity of the wicked.  There are three things we can think of:

(1)   As we see in real life, the wicked sprout up quickly.

The psalmist says that the wicked “sprouted up” like grass (v. 7).  That means the wicked succeed quickly in cunning way without any effort.  Not long ago, there was a part of my house where the backyard lawn was dying.  So my wife and I applied some law care chemical, water, and bought and sown seeds.  Now it's growing fast and we are seeing green grass.  Perhaps the psalmist is saying that the prosperity of the wicked is as quick as grass.

(2)   The prosperity of the wicked may seem like the lushness of wild grass, but the important thing is that there is no fruit.

In other words, the wicked are not bearing any fruit in the sight of God in their prosperity.  The prosperity of the wicked is like a fruitless grass. 

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(3)   The quick prosperity of the wicked is in order to be eventually destroyed forever.

For example, as pigs are fed well to gain weight to be brought to a slaughterhouse, the purpose of the wicked's prosperity is for eternal destruction.  Regarding the prosperity of the wicked in this verse, Pastor D. L. Moody said: ‘The wicked must grow like grass to be fuel.’

                We are witnessing the prosperity of the wicked in our lives even today.  As we see their success, we are at risk of falling into distress as we compare our own lives with them.  In that case, we must see the wicked how God sees the wicked from the perspective of Psalm 92:7.  As the psalmist said in verse 11, “And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me,” we must believe that God will repay the wicked.  Then, when we know and believe that their end is eternal destruction, we will not envy them, nor will we fall into worries about the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous.

Being grateful that God, who solved the problem of ‘the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous’ with the words of Psalm 74, affirmed more and more with Psalm 92:7 today,

James Kim

(After proclaiming these words in faith during the Saturday morning prayer meeting)