Discipleship Devotional, January 25th, 2025
Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
– Proverbs 24:19-20 (NIV)
There are times when it looks like evildoers are progressing, and God’s children may be tempted to be envious of them. However, the Word of God counsels us neither to be afraid of them nor envious of them. We are not even supposed to have envy and jealousy, much less feel this way toward evildoers. We must always see things from God’s perspective.
The fact that the wicked are prospering does not vindicate or justify them. Verse 20 of our anchor text says they don’t have a future hope, and their light will be snuffed out. So even if nothing happens to them in this life, the Bible tells us that ultimately they will answer to God. They will be judged. They have no hope of eternal life in the future.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
– Psalm 1:4-5 (NIV)
Therefore, we must value what we have. We must esteem it as something great. We must realize that to have hope in Christ Jesus is of greater worth than anything in this world.
Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.
– Proverbs 24:1-2 (NIV)
Another danger of envying the wicked is that you may then desire to walk with them. Ultimately, you will become a partaker of their evil and its consequences.
Prayer:
Help me, Lord, to be content in You and not to envy evil people.
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