Gospel Reflections #1160: Caught up within our own delusions.

Psalm 37:1–2 ‘Do not fret because of those who do wrong; do not be envious of evildoers. For they will wither like grass in a moment; like green plants, they will wither away.’

This is a very famous passage that teaches us how to respond when faced with the ‘absurd reality that the wicked seem to prosper’, and it speaks of God’s absolute justice.

 The more earnestly and sincerely one tries to live, the more likely one is to feel anger and resentment—asking, ‘Why them?’—whilst simultaneously feeling envy, when one sees cunning or wicked people reaping rewards or achieving success (prosperity).

David warns us not to allow our hearts to be dominated by such emotions.

For if we allow our eyes to be captivated by the wicked and our hearts to be filled with anger and envy, we run the risk of straying from the righteous path ourselves.

In the Middle East, where the Bible was written, the grass that grows lush and green all at once during the rainy season withers away in the blink of an eye when the hot winds of the dry season blow.

The prosperity of the wicked, who are now at the height of their splendour before our very eyes, is, when viewed from the perspective of long history or God’s ‘eternal perspective’, nothing more than a temporary and extremely fleeting phenomenon, like ‘grass that withers in an instant’.

It teaches us that, because they are inevitably headed for destruction through God’s judgement (the laws of nature), there is no need for us to take revenge with our own hands or to be troubled by it.

These two verses do not merely admonish us to ‘do not be angry’.

They serve as the foundation leading to the conclusion in verse 3 and beyond: ‘Trust in the Lord and do good’.

We must stop being swayed by the absurd circumstances around us or ‘the situations of others’; we must trust in ‘God’s justice’, which will ultimately set things right; and we must channel the energy we would otherwise spend envying others into doing the ‘good’ that we ought to be doing right now.

Herein lies a powerful wisdom, distilled to help us live in peace with God in an unjust world, freeing our hearts from comparison and discontent.

Yet, we remain caught up in our emotions, struggling and suffering even within our own delusions.

That is precisely why we must continue to seek God, so that in all things we may entrust everything to Him—who is perfect—rather than relying on our own strength, judgement or emotions.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.