Day 61: The wicked will be cut off; the righteous will rule forever.

“For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:9-11, 18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let’s face it, it’s difficult to see wicked people prospering. Sometimes I marvel at the money “thrown” at people who probably have never done anything truly good in their lives. They may have a wonderful talent: good at sports, a great singer or musician, a good actor, and so on; but their character, who they are, is frankly horrible. I’m not making a judgment on their worth as a human being; we all know that God values every soul, paying the ultimate price that we all might be saved. I’m just talking about the fact that it makes no sense (in human terms) that the type of people I’m referencing have so much when there are so many good people who spend a life, seemingly, struggling. Now, some people would say that’s a great argument for Socialism: don’t let anybody be too rich; don’t let anybody be too poor. Fact is, Socialism only makes everybody poor except for the ruling class who generally want for nothing.

When you think about it, it makes sense that the world system rewards those who pursue the things important to the world system: power, money, influence, pleasure, etc. The world system rewards some of its children richly to keep hearts and minds captivated by its siren song.

Truly, the world can’t and won’t fix the disparity between the prosperous wicked and the often-abused righteous. Its the way the world system wants to keep it.

Now, make no mistake, God can and will fill the needs of His people who call upon His name. But—the fact is—the reward of righteousness is not based in the world system’s economy.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:19-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Those who say that the righteous will always be rich are just before taking an offering. Again, God can and will meet the needs of the righteous. I have personally seen Him make a way where there was no way, financially and otherwise. But, we do not serve the Lord to receive temporary pleasure and to be able to indulge in a lifestyle of excess. We serve the Lord because of Who He is and to receive His eternal reward!

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭4:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

What the righteous person is assured of in this life is that the Lord hears their prayers, will plead their case, miraculously provides, equips for good works, brings soul peace, and is faithful in fulfilling a myriad more great and precious promises. But, that is not where the story ends! The righteous will rule and reign with our Lord FOREVER!

“And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.””

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our portion from Psalms today we see David talking about the reward of the wicked versus the reward of the righteous. The reward of the wicked is temporary; the reward of the righteous is eternal. This theme is repeated over and over in different ways throughout Psalm 37.

Interestingly, Psalm 37 was my grandfather, Aram Mushegian’s, most referenced and prescribed passages of scripture. If you take the time to read the whole psalm (and I hope you will), you will identify with it. What the psalmist does is fix our expectation and our hope on God’s reward rather then the world’s reward.

From what I understand, there was a time in my grandfather’s life when (although he turned out to be a great prophet of God) he could have anger issues. But, he learned that God would fight his battles and his reward was with the Lord. That may sound simple, but it is essential to know as we navigate this life. Otherwise, we might allow ourselves to become discouraged and frustrated by what wicked folks are getting and/or doing.

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

The rule and prosperity of the wicked will be cut off; the rule and prosperity of the righteous will be forever.

#100dayswithdavid