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One of the most frustrating but necessary lessons that we each must learn in our Christian walks is that life is not fair but God is. In order to make sense of the very real prosperity and ease that the wicked can and do experience, we must come to have an eternal perspective. Surely, we have all sensed frustration and maybe even grew bitter for a time when we saw someone get away with wrong. How irritating it is when justice is not served and the righteous suffer when in fact it should have been the wicked who were dealt the blow of justice. Yet, it is not always the case that in this life and in this very fallen and imperfect world in which we live that justice is always served. Sometimes, life is not fair, and justice is not served. This is not how it should be, and it is not what a society should seek. However, unfairness and imperfect justice does happen. The key for us as believers is how we respond to such situations. Of course, we should do our part to stand for truth and justice, but sometimes our calls, prayers, and petitions will go unheeded. Sometimes the wicked "get away with" their sin. So then what?

The Bible is not oblivious to this reality. In fact, this internal dilemma is expressed in numerous places. Job wrestled with God allowing evil to happen, and his friends struggled to accept that evil could happen even to a righteous person. Such would be unfair after all, and a just God would never allow that, they thought. Jesus spoke of God sending rain on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). In other words, both the righteous and the wicked will have issues to deal with in this life that aren’t always in exact proportion to their righteous or unrighteous behavior.

A very transparent portrayal of this internal struggle about holiness not necessarily leading to fairness and just retribution in this life is given in Psalm 73 by Asaph. Asaph knows the truth of God’s Word as he says in verse 1: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart!" This is truth he has heard, written songs about, and thanked God for over and over again. He knows it is true, however his experience is causing him to doubt God’s Word. What he sees, feels, and observes doesn’t necessarily correlate with what he would think God means by the "good" He would do for the pure in heart. After all, how could God be good if Israel suffers and the wicked nations triumph, for example? How could God allow these things? Asaph had a heart for God, and it bothered him deeply that there seemed to be a lack of fairness in this world. In fact, this particular dilemma of the wicked prospering nearly caused him to begin vocalizing his doubt to others in Israel and thereby leading them into distrust of God also (v. 15). He says that his feet came close to stumbling (v. 2) because of his envy of the wicked (v. 3). This is so important: if we think that all on this earth must work out fairly while we are yet on this earth, we will be severely tempted to start envying the wicked to the extent that we might even start living as they live. Doubt leads to envy which leads to disobedience and to unfaithfulness. When Asaph thought merely temporally and not eternally, he grew greatly frustrated. He says in verse 12,13, "Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence." Asaph also speaks of suffering and even undergoing divine discipline of God (v. 14). Being a man of faith was tough, and it bothered him that all of God’s refining work in his heart and life didn’t lead to more material blessing and ease as the wicked experienced. When his focus was on evil people doing evil things rather than upon the God of justice and the God Who loves His people relentlessly, Asaph’s heart sunk. He grew depressed, bitter, and angry (v. 21). But there was a turning point, an answer.

Asaph entered the sanctuary of God. He may or may not have literally gone to the temple, but the point is that he came to rest in God’s promises, God’s sovereignty, and God’s heart. God is good and just, and the only hope for Asaph and for us to be at peace despite the inequity all around us is to 1) do what we can to be and promote equity but more importantly 2) trust God to make all things just, fair, and right in the end. Romans 2:6 says that God "WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS." Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." We have got to remember that this life is inconceivably short when contrasted with eternity. In the end, all that we do here and now matters because God sees all and will render to each of us according to our deeds. Those who trust Christ for salvation will be rewarded on the basis on their faithfulness, while those who reject Christ will face the Great White Throne judgment where their evil deeds will condemn them to eternity in hell. Asaph’s troubles and struggles with perceived unfairness and very real inequity in the short term were finally put to rest when he perceived the end of the wicked (v. 17). God will deal with them and hold them to account for all of their evil deeds because God is just. He is just to forgive those who seek it and just to punish those who reject it.

In the meantime, we have no reason to doubt, envy, or become embittered. We have our God, the God of justice, near to us, and such is our good (v. 28). Rather than envy the wicked, we need to tell them of all of the wonders of our good and just God (v. 28). Our hope is our eternal glory with Christ in heaven (v. 24), and to get all worked up about the ease of the wicked is just plain senseless (v. 22). Let us not be ignorant but remember that the eternal judgment of God is altogether fair.

"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

Manifestations of the Spirit