Why Do the Wicked Prosper?

“Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?” Job 21:7, 13-15

We have a strong tendency to be self-centered in our thinking, and this self-centeredness often hampers our understanding of the world around us. We like it when good things happen to us, and we dislike it when bad things happen. We want all of our experiences to be pleasant and every outcome to be positive. We want our work to prosper and our families to be healthy and happy. We want people to like us, and we always want to be able to get what we need when we need it. If things don’t go our way, we look around and find examples of other people who seem to have everything they want. This can get us into trouble because God does not always present us with instant feedback. It is true that God rewards good and punishes evil, but He does not always do it immediately. This means that we can always find examples of good people who are struggling and wicked people who are flourishing. The wicked people who have things going their way fail to see the need for God. They see no reason to go to church, to pray, or to read the Bible. Job teaches us that we cannot focus on the immediate outcome, but rather on doing right. Living for God requires faith. Like Job, we need to trust Him when things go wrong.