Why do the wicked prosper?

Bill Gates is rich. Is that an understatement or what? In fact, his wealth is now estimated, according to Forbes Magazine, to be in excess of $66 billion. Not long ago some people who had way too much time on their hands came up with some amazing statistics on Gate’s wealth. This was back when he was worth only a paltry $47,471,955,200.

 According to CNN FN, as of yesterday, the price of gold was $264.70 per troy ounce. There are 147 million troy ounces of gold in Fort Knox. All the gold in Fort Knox is, therefore, worth $38.9 billion. Bill is therefore worth $8.6 billion more than all the gold in Fort Knox! 

 If you took 47,471,955,200 one dollar bills, and could actually balance them in a stack, that stack would be 3,215 miles high.

 Two more. According to the US Census Bureau, the population of the world as of yesterday was 6.12 billion people. This means that Bill could give $7.75 to every person on the entire planet and he'd still have $5.9 million left over for incidentals.

 If  you had 47,471,955,200 one dollar bills, and laid them end to end, you would have a line of bills that runs 4.6 million miles. If you began traveling along this line picking up dollar bills March 13, 1986 (the day Microsoft went public), and you wished to accumulate wealth at the same rate Bill has since that date, you would need to travel that line of bills picking them up at 35.09 MPH.

Again, Bill Gates is rich.

 This morning I want us to explore the issue of wealth and why the wicked prosper.

The Bible speaks directly to this question in Psalm 73. Please turn to the passage with me.

 The writer of the Psalm was a fellow by the name of Asaph. 

·        He was a good man.  

·        The Bible records that he was David's choir director. 

·        Some of Israel's most beautiful music was written by him. In fact, at least eleven of the Psalms were written by the gentleman.

The point is, Asaph started out right, but then he nearly fell away as he got his eyes off of God and on to the riches of those around him.

 Let’s look at Psalm 73. Verses 1-5, 12-14 notes: “A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.” 12  “This is what the wicked are like‑‑ always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished  every morning.”

 Here Asaph gives us a striking picture of what the world calls successful people:

·        Their position in life: “They aren't always in trouble and plagued with problems like everyone else,”

·        Their health: “They are not suffering. Their bodies are healthy and strong,”

·        Their arrogance: “They wear pride like a jeweled necklace,”  

·        Their insensitivity to evil: “Their eyes poke out with fat, and their minds are flooded with foolish thoughts.”

·        Verse 7 adds from The Contemporary English Version: “They are looking for profits and do not control their selfish desires.”

 Asaph lived in an age when the Hebrew people believed that the blessings of the Lord were ALWAYS manifested in material prosperity. Suddenly he faced a time when his own life seemingly fell apart. Therefore, he questioned:

·        "Hey, I've kept all the rules.

·        I've followed the Lord.

·        I've obeyed the Law.

·        Why, then, do evil people, who make no pretense of believing in the Lord, receive blessings which appear to be from God while I have to pinch every penny?"

 Have you been there?  Do you relate?   Who doesn't?

We try to run our affairs honestly, we love God, we tithe, and then we see some joker who lies, cheats and steals and yet he has a better bottom line than we do!  So, what gives!

 Hear me, my friends, such comparisons are dangerous. They were for Asaph; they are for us.

 1.         They are dangerous because there is always someone who is more prosperous than we are.

Someone will always have:

·        a nicer car,

·        a bigger house,

·        a better grade of furniture,

·        and a fatter bank account. 

It will always be this way.  Always!  If the enemy can turn your head over such things as these, he will have you defeated before you know it. "Look here. Look there. Just don't look to Jesus!"  That is Satan's line.

 2.         Such comparisons are dangerous because they generally lead one to envy. 

Someone wrote that "Envy is always a hungry beggar who never has enough. It never sees enough.  It never owns enough.  It never is satisfied!"

 A very wealthy man was once asked how much more money would it take to make him happy?  He simply answered, "One dollar more, always one dollar more." 

 Asaph freely admitted that he was guilty here. Verse three again, this time from The Contemporary English Version: “It made me jealous to see proud and evil people and to watch them prosper.”

 3.         Looking at the rich is dangerous because one can quickly become covetous. 

Asaph was proud that he was a good man. Listen to verse 13 (The New Living Translation),  “Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong?” And yet as good and pure as he was, he still was guilty of breaking the Tenth Commandment – “You shall not covet.” To covet means to desire that which belongs to someone else: a spouse, a car, a house or a neat CD player.

 Asaph erred here. What he had was not enough. He needed that which belonged to the rich in order to truly be happy. He needed that which belonged to the wealthy in order to see himself as truly being blessed of God.

4.         Such comparisons are dangerous for they almost cost Asaph his faith! 

Again, notice verse 2 from several translations:

·        “But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.”

·        “I almost stumbled and fell.”

·        “But I had almost stopped believing this truth. I had almost lost my faith.”

 Along this line, I read awhile back of a saint who in a time of discouragement shared, "When I was living for the devil it seemed like everything went right, everything I touched turned to money. Now I can hardly make ends meet."

 Paul the Apostle therefore warned the young Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6-7, 9-11, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s. But you, man of God, flee from all this….” Perhaps Paul was thinking of Asaph when he wrote these words.

 Jesus, in Matthew 13, likened the “deceitfulness of riches” to weeds that choke out the Word of God and makes it unfruitful. 

 The Bible clearly instructs us to fix our eyes on the Lord. Anything/anyone else is nothing more than slippery ground!

 How many of you here today would like to trade places with:

Magic Johnson, former NBA star now living with the AIDS virus.

Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader. He recently admitted to fathering a child by someone other than his wife; the mother of his five children. Now questions are being raised about his personal finances. The man is worth millions of dollars and yet I would not want to exchange places with him. Can you imagine what he has to be going through? Pray for him.

Robert Downey Jr. -- the academy award winning actor who can’t whip his cravings for drugs and alcohol and as a result has been in and out of prison.

Rae Carruth – the professional football star who was recently sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison for his part in the shooting death of his pregnant girl-friend.

 These men were or are very successful and wealthy.

·        Yet, do they have struggles? 

·        Are they free from burdens?

·        Are they always carefree?

 Then too, please remember:

·        Elvis Presley,

·        Jimmy Hendricks,

·        John Lennon,

·        Judy Garland,

·        Marilyn Monroe,

·        Len Bias,

·        and Howard Hughes. 

The list could go on and on. These were the rich and very rich. The famous and the very famous and yet where are they today? Do you remember their awful and violent deaths?

 Along this line we understand that ...

MONEY WILL BUY:

A bed, but not sleep.

Books, but not brains.

Food, but not appetite.

A house, but not a home.

Medicine, but not health.

Pleasure, but not joy.

Makeup, but not beauty.

Companions, but not real friends.

A crucifix, but not a Savior!

 No doubt one of the richest men who ever lived was King Solomon of the Old Testament. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 2, “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I bought male and female slaves....  I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.  I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well… I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained….”

 Then Ecclesiastes 5:10 adds: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”

 Satan wants people today to believe that serving him pays off in the so-called good things in life. They read the people and entertainment magazines, look at the way the wicked rich are portrayed on the tube and they see only the fancy clothes, the large houses, fast cars and beautiful women or handsome men. Like Asaph, they are blind to the fact that often-times such stuff in nothing more than PROPAGANDA FROM HELL!

 Yes, I freely admit that there are many rich people who are happy and content. Make no mistake about it. And yet it would be wrong to classify every wealthy person in that light, wouldn’t you agree?

 Notice with me now some reasons the wicked prosper.

1.         Asaph uses the term “WICKED.”

Sometimes the wicked prosper due to their wickedness. Again, SOMETIMES. By no means do I mean every time.

 ·        Al Capone didn't make his bundle preaching.

·        Look at the drug dealers.

·        Consider those who con the elderly out of their retirement.

·        Fraud and embezzlement cost the United States billions of dollars annually!

·        Bank embezzlement, alone, totals 10 times greater loss than bank robberies!

Evil and greed have become a way of life in today's society.

 To be sure, many of you would be rich, too, if only you would

·        bend the rules,

·        lie a little here and there,

·        take advantage of the little guy.

Let's face it, this is the truth!

 Satan is not bound to operate within the rules of honestly and fair-play.  He does not understand the meaning of ethics.

·        To him it is a dog eat dog world.

·        Get all that you can get.  You only go around once.

·        Greed is good.

·        Every man for himself.

THOSE ARE HIS RULES!

We who belong to Jesus chose not to play by such "rules" though.

 2.         The lost are oftentimes better stewards of their money than are we who are in Christ.

Luke 16:1-13 contains the parable of the dishonest employee. The fellow was fired, but before he left the office he quickly called in everyone who owed his boss money. One of these people owed, lets say, $10,000. The employee reduced the debt on the books down to $100. Another owed $500, his bill was slashed to $25.  Do you get the idea?

Look with me now at Luke 16:8. I will read once more from the Contemporary English Version: “The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That’s how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.”

The moral of the story is simple. Jesus saw the children of this world as being wiser in their business dealings, oft-times, than are the children of the Lord.  He obviously does not commend the dishonest employee. But rather he compliments the fellow's ingenuity in escaping a potentially disastrous situation. 

 He then goes on to note, if we can't handle wisely the wealth, however small it might be, that we have now, how can we be entrusted with the heavenly wealth that the Lord has in store for us in eternity?

 The parable, therefore, is a call for Christians to be wise in their business dealings. Be as wise, or wiser, than those in the world.

 3.         Some sinners are rich because they were born into a wealthy family.

I enjoy the bumper sticker that one occasionally sees on the back of an RV in some far off place: "We're spending our children's inheritance."

 Prior to his death, Sam Walton, of Wal-Mart fame split his billion dollar fortune among his wife and their several children. These heirs are now numbered among the richest people in America. 

 A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents. The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37. Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."

 4.         Some gained their riches the old-fashioned way, they earned it.

As I noted a few moments ago, it would be wrong to cast a cloud of suspicion over everyone who is wealthy. No doubt a number of you have been inspired by the story of some low-born individual who worked his or her way up through the ranks and came out on top. America is a haven for such accounts. In fact, this is the American dream. 

·         Abraham Lincoln’s story of going from a log cabin in Illinois to the White House in Washington is legendary,

·         Colonel Harlan Sanders was broke and retired when he came up with his famous secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken. The rest is history.

·         How about the actress Julia Roberts? She was born in small town of Smyrna, Georgia. Her father sold vacuum cleaners and her mother was a church secretary. They divorced when she was just 4 years old and the father died of cancer five years after the divorce. Nonetheless, Julia set her mind to acting and today reportedly makes $20 million per movie.

·         One more, Mary Kay Ash. With a $5,000 investment, on Friday, September 13,1963, she opened the doors of Mary Kay Cosmetics in a 500-square-foot storefront in Dallas, Texas

• 1984 - Mary Kay Cosmetics was featured in Fortune magazine for first time
• 1991 - Retail sales surpass $1 billion
• 1992 - Mary Kay Cosmetics is listed on Fortune 500

·         1996 - Retail sales hit $2 billion.

·         1998 - For a fifth consecutive year, Mary Kay was the best-selling brand of facial skin-care and color cosmetics in the United States.

·         Today the Mary Kay fleet (including thousands of pink Cadillacs) is the largest commercial fleet of GM passenger cars in the world.

 I still like the old Smith Barney commercial. The line is simple. “We make money the old-fashioned way. We earn it.”

 5.         Then sometimes the Lord blesses a person with wealth.

King Solomon serves as an example here. As I noted earlier in this message, he was one of the richest men who ever lived. The Lord blessed him with both wisdom and with riches.

 Listen to these verses of Scripture:

·         Deuteronomy 8:18, “But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth….”

·         1 Samuel 2:7, “The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” 

I have known what it is like to be poor. I can say from personal experience that poverty is not what God wants for you. I cannot say that it is good, blessed or a thing to be desired. Rather I see God as the great giving God who loves to bless His children. Sometimes His blessings includes wealth.

 Now, in all fairness to Asaph, his discouragement is rather short lived. 

Psalm 73:16-17 notes, “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God….”

 Did you catch the secret of his turn-around?

·        He was oppressed, till he entered the sanctuary.

·        He was discouraged, till he entered the sanctuary.

·        He was ready to quit, until he entered the sanctuary.

 Now, I don't want there to be any misunderstanding as to what is meant by the word sanctuary here.  It literally means:

·        The sacred place.

·        The temple.

·        The tabernacle.

·        The sanctuary of Jehovah.

Simply, Asaph went to church!  When he went to worship, he regained his spiritual balance!  

 What a lesson for us. We are people of the sanctuary! It is to be a place of safety and refuge for us as well.

I enjoy his words as found in Psalm 73:25-28, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge….”

He is now seeing that God is his strength and supply.  God is his portion forever. 

Tell me please, what price can be affixed to the peace of mind that the Lord provides?

·        How much is His blessed salvation worth?

·        You won't find the fruit of the Spirit on any bargain counter either!

·        What about answered prayers?

·        The fellowship of the body of Christ?

·        The hope that is ours  -- the rapture of the church?

·        And the expectation of eternity in His presence?

As Asaph began to count his riches, instead of every one else’s, he realized anew that he was wealthy in the things that really matter; in the things that have eternity stamped on them.

 I like that line where he says, “But as for me, it is good to be near God.” What a difference being “near God” made in his life.

 As he gains this personal victory, he comes to understand the end of the wicked. 

Notice these scattered verses from my text:

“For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!”

 In short, the wicked rich are in trouble, big trouble. They have nothing but the judgment of God facing them. It will not be long before the wicked disappear forever from the earth. Their riches will amount to and count for nothing then!

 Listen to Psalm 49:10, “For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.”

·        Someone else will eventually wind up with their houses.

·        Someone else will get their cars.

·        Someone else will have their job.

·        Someone else will probably get their husband or wife.

It all will go back in the box to be given out all over again to someone else!

 A number of years ago my father shared his faith with a rather ungodly fellow. The gentleman was rude to my dad and told him that he didn’t care to hear anything about Jesus or religion. Shortly after this, the fellow died. He went into eternity without the Lord.

·        He was rather well-to-do.

·        Lived in a beautiful home.

·        Dressed well.

·        And yet he left it all behind. 

In fact, the irony of it all is, after his death, the widow gave many of the man’s suits and sport coats to my dad. Dad, in turn, gave some of them to me. They were very nice and they fit me perfectly. I wore them to church and preached in them many times. Kind of funny, isn't it, how things work out?

 Again Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:15, “Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind?”

 Dear saint, don't fret over the wicked. The Lord is about to handle these workers of iniquity. They are His concern, not yours.

 Given the big picture, I guarantee you, the lot of the poorest Christian is infinitely better than the fate of the richest sinner. All of the heaven that they are going to know, they are going to experience here on this earth. Don't begrudge them that; it is