The Wicked Prosper... For Now
- Hadassah Z
- Oct 5
- 3 min read
A Mirrored Perspective
Post 4 of 6:
Psalm 73 captures a crisis of faith that every honest believer eventually faces. Asaph, the psalm's author, nearly lost his footing spiritually—not because of personal sin or obvious temptation, but because of what he observed. He watched the wicked prosper while the righteous suffered, and it almost destroyed his faith.
"For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 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" (Psalm 73:3-5).
Sound familiar? We see corrupt politicians grow wealthy. False teachers build megachurch empires. Those who openly mock YHVH seem to climb ladder after ladder—wealth, influence, comfort, success. Meanwhile, faithful believers lose jobs for refusing to compromise, face persecution for speaking truth, and struggle financially because they won't participate in corrupt business practices.
It looks like the wicked are climbing while the righteous are sliding. The game board appears to reward evil and punish good. And if we judge by those appearances, we'll either lose faith entirely or compromise to "get ahead."
But Asaph's breakthrough came when he entered the sanctuary of YHVH: "Then I discerned their end. 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!" (Psalm 73:17-19).
The wicked aren't climbing ladders—they're standing on ice. What looks like solid success is actually "slippery places" that end in sudden destruction. Their prosperity is temporary, hollow, and ultimately worthless. They're accumulating what moth and rust destroy, building on sand, investing in a kingdom that's already been judged and sentenced.
Proverbs 14:12 warns: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." The wicked's path seems right—it looks successful, appears blessed, feels comfortable. But it terminates in destruction. The ladder they think they're climbing is actually a chute disguised with gold paint.
This is the critical distinction we must maintain: Temporary prosperity is not the same as eternal blessing. Comfort now is not the same as security later. Worldly success is not the same as Kingdom fruitfulness. The game we can see is not the game that matters.
Matthew 7:22-23 records one of the most terrifying passages in Scripture. Many will claim, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" These people had what looked like successful ministries, impressive spiritual résumés, visible results.
But Yeshua's response is devastating: "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."
They thought they were climbing. They appeared to be winning. But they were standing in slippery places the entire time, building ministries on sand, accumulating wood, hay, and stubble that would burn up under judgment (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
The wicked prosper—for now. The game board shows them ahead—for this moment. But the game isn't over. The Judge who sees past appearances is keeping a different score, and His accounting is the only one that survives past this age.
Don't envy the wicked's chutes disguised as ladders. Don't grow weary when your faithfulness looks like sliding down. The appearance is temporary. The reality is eternal.
Challenge: When you're tempted to envy worldly success, pause and pray Psalm 73. Ask YHVH to show you "their end" and to anchor your perspective in eternal truth.
Next Post Previews:
In our next post, we're getting intensely practical. How do you develop and maintain Kingdom eyes in a world that constantly bombards you with worldly metrics? We'll break down specific practices: anchoring in Scripture, building Kingdom-minded community, practicing daily reality checks, remembering your true position in Messiah, and keeping the end in view. This is theology applied to everyday life.
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