I remember as a kid sliding down that steep ditch on a piece of cardboard down by the old abandoned

farmhouse.  It was a long bike ride that included trying to carry a large cardboard box that seemed to be trying to take wing as you sped down cemetery hill.  But once on that great precipice the moment of truth was at hand.  It took some work to get going and the ride wasn’t fast but on the other hand the cardboard box lasted a long time, which didn’t necessitate a long pedal back up cemetery hill to the general store to try and find a new one – hoping one of the other 4 guys in town hadn’t grabbed the last of the good ones.

Ah but the real fun for the truly brave at heart came the morning after a real good thunderstorm.  The sides of the ditch were really slippery and any aerodynamic thoughts of friction or parasite drag were all but forgotten.  Without any effort the ride to the bottom was really fast – all it took was a gentle push at the top.  But only the true challengers of fate, only those that had to have that rush slid over the top.  Even back then before my Top Gun days my motto was – I feel the need for speed!  The only problem was that speed had its price and you hit the bottom of the ditch really hard, hoped you didn’t hit a rock and got soaking wet in the process.  But worse yet was the fact that the box was only good for one ride.

It was scary sitting on that thin piece of cardboard looking over the edge, but the guys were doing it.  The only problem was that the rich kid in town had a large piece of tin his dad had fixed up for him.  He was fast and never had to look for a new box.  It seemed as though he had everything, including one of only 5 TV sets in town.  He got anything he wanted and he didn’t even have to do any chores.  Oh the inequity of it all!

These past few weeks have really been a struggle for me as I’ve been bombarded by a lot of things, most of which have been very troubling.  It’s getting so that I don’t want to open the mail and get another statement telling me that what little we have tucked away is getting smaller by the month.  The evening news grows more depressing every day as the networks dig up one tragedy after another to enhance their ratings.  As a result my response has been anything but calm and quiet – well at least until last night.

When faced with problems I always seem to find myself heading to the psalms.  I am always able to find someone there who has dealt with the issues surrounding me at the moment.  Or maybe to look for someone who has had it worse than me – misery does love company.  Last night was no exception and my old friend Asaph showed up.

Ezra tells us that Asaph was an ancestor of the temple singers (Ezra 2:41) and Chronicles places him at the reign of Solomon; a Levite and a seer (2Chr 5:12; 29:30).  But more importantly to me is the fact that he seems to always understand where I find myself.  And last night was no exception – I was complaining about the current situation in the world in general and specifically here inAmerica(WashingtonD.C.to be exact) and the Lord took me to Psalm 73 for a little remedial learning.

Do you find yourself asking again – more frequently – why do the righteous seem to suffer at the expense of the unrighteous?  Furthermore, why do they seem to get away with it unscathed?  Well, we’re not alone as that is exactly where Asaph found himself when he penned this psalm.  I think if we’ll take a minute of two and reflect on what he has to say it may just put things back in perspective for us.

Let’s take a look at what he was going through and I think we’ll identify with not only the situation but more importantly the solution.

Ps 73:1-3 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.  2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.  3. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  

He points out exactly where he’s coming from right up front – God is good to Israelbecause she has a pure heart that’s open to God.  As a Christian we’ve been given the same perspective through the Words of Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Mat 5:8).  But let’s face it, the pure aren’t perfect.  They just try to live in loyalty to God, which is evident in their speech and actions; the motive is pure.  But walking out what we say is a lot tougher.  It’s all about the state of one’s heart and that is what was at issue for Asaph.

His world was upside down and it was causing him to “slip” and get dangerously close to backsliding.  He recognized his condition and also knew the reason why; envy.  But how did he get there?  Everything going on around him seemed to contradict what he was confessing with his faith.  And we “all” know those faith scriptures that we hang onto as if they were the last life ring on the Titanic. He looked around and instead of seeing God’s people being blessed in the world all he saw were the sinners succeeding at the cost of the suffering saints.  The word “prosperity” in verse 3 is translated salom; peace.  It was all backwards, he was tormented and they were in total peace.

How can we believe God when the pure in heart get kicked in the teeth and the wicked seem to roll along in peaceful bliss? If we’re honest with ourselves we’ve all asked that question more than once (I’ll raise my hand).  And the reason?  We get jealous of their success and our flesh jumps at the chance to complain about it. Why should the people who oppose God be better off than those who trust Him?  But this murmuring and self-pity is a dangerous step to take, it almost caused our friend to lose faith in God.

Ps 73:4-9 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.  5. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.  6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.  7. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.  8. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.  9. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 

He looks around him as we do today and what does he see?  Those who don’t fear God act as if they are not only totally outside the law of the land but beyond reach of God’s hand.  And they don’t seem to suffer pain or lose their strength. What is going on in the world doesn’t seem to bother or affect them at all.  They are puffed up with pride and leave a trail of violence behind them.  In verse 7 the word “fatness” actually means that “their eyes sparkle” because everything is going right for them.  If we go back to the promises of God toIsraelwe can understand why Asaph struggles with what he sees all around him:

Gen 17:6-8 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 

The ungodly are full of scheming and with their tongues they dictate how things are to be done on earth and conversely, what God can and can’t do in heaven.  Sort of reminds us of thetowerofBabeland how God dealt with the last time man tried to dictate to God.  Can we identify with that in our world today?

Ps 73:10-14 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. 11. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?  12. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.  13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.  14. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. 

But in verse 10 we begin to see the problem that complaining can ultimately lead to – if you can’t lick em, join em.  Peter understood the problem when he addressed the false teachers – the result was the same:

2 Peter 2:2-3 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. 

As one commentator put it:

The power, wealth, and influence of riches pervert.  People are drawn by the rich.  Power corrupts, not only those who have it, but also those who want to get a piece of the action.  Opportunists turn to the right people in order to drink from their abundant waters. William VanGemeren

As they move their envy into action they even begin to show disdain for God … How doth God know? Is there knowledge in the most High? The ungodly are just getting richer and richer and God is looking the other way – how will God know what we do if we go along with them?  God is good to the wicked – what kind of God is this?  What kind of God allows crime and unjust government prosper?  What kind of God allows the world to suffer in fear of terrorists?  Well, if that’s the way it is then why be righteous or faithful?

That’s where Asaph was in verse 13 – why repent what good does it do?  Like many saints throughout history he was puzzled that God seemed to prosper the wicked and punish the righteous.  You might say that it looks like Asaph’s theology wasn’t working.  Does it seem the same way to you today? It’s not always easy to react honestly to the prosperity of others when we’re suffering adversity at the same time – it’s downright tough!

So what’s the answer? 

Ps 73:15-17 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.  16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.  

Well the first step is one that we are all very aware of but often fail to take.  Don’t share our emotions with others as the end result isn’t going to help us and may very well weaken their faith.  Like Asaph, when we don’t understand the ways of God and when they become too painful to contemplate we need to turn to the one who has the answers and re-establish our priorities.  As Martin Luther wrote, our reason must die with Christ in order to be resurrected into a new life of faith (it always comes back to that doesn’t it; dying to self). It’s in setting ourselves aside and communing with God that the answer will come.  But the answer here doesn’t relate to the present state of the wicked … God’s revelation is about their ultimate end.

Ps 73:18-20 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.  

With his priorities restored Asaph now contrasts what he said in verse 2.  Whereas God had not permitted him to slip into sin, the wicked are doomed to fall.  And how does it come – in a moment!  It’s not important when they will slip and fall, what is important is the certainty that God will see to their fall and it will come “suddenly.” And all that they thought was so important will wind up as Job put it:

Job 18:17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. 

No one will even remember them. It reminds us of Jesus’ admonition about focusing on what is really important:

Matt 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 

I like how one author, whose name I can’t remember, described verse 20.  The wicked are like a dream, which has a sense of reality when one is asleep but is gone at the moment of awakening.  And when did Asaph wake up?  When he “went into the sanctuary. Re-establishing the certainty of God’s ultimate judgment brings everything back into perspective.  In the end it will all just be like a bad dream. It doesn’t matter when or how, it only matters that the end will reveal their true condition and judgment will follow.

That’s the negative side of the equation.  But there’s a positive side that we need to really focus in on:

Ps 73:21-26 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 22. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.  

In realizing he was the one that was slipping rather than the wicked, Asaph faced up to his own ignorance and how he was affected by envy. His heart (intellect) and his reins (mind/emotions) were grieved (chamets; embittered) because he lost sight of what he knew to be truth. In his depression he was irrational and not ruled by Godly wisdom – like a dumb beast (verse 22).

Paul put it for us this way:

1Cor 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

The good news – God holds him in His hand and provides guidance to a completely different end than the wicked (Deut 23:27).  At the end of the day he acknowledged that all he had was God in heaven and there wasn’t anyone on earth he wanted to make a switch with. As his flesh fails it is only God that can rescue him. God is his “portion” forever; his inheritance and council (Eph 1:13).

Boy, what a word to us in the midst of our present turmoil.  We really need to focus in on that thought.  No matter how good it looks in the natural it can never compare to the end that God has in store for those who love Him.  The strength and prosperity of the wicked is temporal but as Asaph came to realize … God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.  He realizes that there was nowhere else to go.

When the going gets tough we should remember the words of our old friend, bottom line Peter:

John 6:67-69 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.  

While the wicked may prosper materially, it is only the spiritual possessions of the righteous that will last.

Ps 73:27-28 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. 

And that’s the bottom line isn’t it?  Regardless how good people look, no matter how successful they seem to be or how they employ their power for their own advancement and no matter how peaceful their life seems to be in this world – they will all perish apart from God. Even though there may not be justice in this life and their actions may have a direct and often negative impact on us, God will prove Himself before “all” in the end.  And to that realization Asaph found himself back where he needed to be – near to God.  It’s there that he could “witness” to all the works of God.  He nearly slipped in his confidence in God but in the end he was reassured that God was keeping him secure. His envy was turned into hope.

And there is the caution and the answer for us today.  When we are distraught by the ungodly forces around us and the circumstance that seem to overwhelm us in favor of the wicked continue to plague us day after day, we dare not let our flesh cause us to “slip” out of fellowship with the Lord.  Lusting after the riches, fame, glory, success and prosperity of the ungodly is a trap of the enemy.  The enemy wants nothing more than to draw us into following the desires of our flesh, the desires that will drag us right out of fellowship.  Comparing our current circumstances with the state of those who do not know God is the first step onto that slippery slope.  After all, says Peter, they just speak alluring words out of empty wells that offer only promises of bondage:

2Peter 2:17-19 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 

There is a very appropriate quote from Martin Luther in one of his teachings on Paul’s letter to the Romans:  

The righteous man has peace with God but affliction in the world, because he lives in the Spirit.  The unrighteous man has peace with the world but affliction and tribulation with God, because he lives in the flesh.

But as the Spirit is eternal, so also will be the peace of the righteous man and the tribulation of the unrighteous.  And as the flesh is temporal, so will be the tribulation of the righteous and the peace of the unrighteous.

The bottom line remains – the only defense against envy and the draw of material success is to stay close to the Lord. He is the only one that can give us a balanced perspective concerning the wicked and the wickedness in the world.

If you are like me and find your mind beginning to focus on the world around you and all the chaos that it throws at your senses, then spend some time considering these words of Asaph.  We can all take heart that although he almost slipped, God did not let go of him.  In the end he discarded his circumstances and refocused on the truth that was in his heart.  And that’s what we need to do to combat all that is going on around us today.

So now I skip to the mailbox and joyfully turn on the evening news – right?  Not hardly.  But I don’t plan on riding a cardboard box down a wet, slippery slope anytime soon either … I remember what happens at the bottom of the ditch.

The world hasn’t changed and the circumstances seem to grow more chaotic every day.  But the difference is that I have been reminded that as an adopted son of God I’m living in eternity today and as a result I’m bound and governed by its rules and not those of this temporal world.  My life is not dictated by those who have turned against the Lord in pursuit of the world’s fame and riches (Hos 1:2b). But the challenge remains – not to allow my flesh to drag me into their world but rather let The Spirit lift me into His realm.  Only then are we able to draw near to Jesus, rest in His promises and share with the world what He has done.

After all, in the end none of it matters one bit as God will reconcile everything (Rev 20:11-15); the “books” will be balanced!  And that’s another story the Lord has me working on for another time in the near future.  For now – I need to take my eye off the rich kid with the shiny piece of tin.