a humbling admission

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73:1-3

This psalm of Asaph opens Book Three of the Psalter with a candor worth considering. I think it would do most Christians a lot of good to admit that this same struggle occasionally grabs our own hearts. I know I have been there. I remember once a few years back, as I drove to the church office to do the Lord’s work in my vehicle of the time, a 20+ year old Jeep SUV closing in on a quarter million miles, out of nowhere an obnoxious Audi comes behind me at full speed, crosses the double line, and passes me, flipping me the bird with a grin as he did so. I remember angrily praying out loud something like this: “Lord, why do the wicked get to have the good cars? The way this dude drives, he doesn’t deserve it!” My feet were stumbling. I was envious.

We live in a world that pushes materialism and the good life on us as the only measure of success and happiness. And Christians, if we aren’t in a worship perspective, we can fall for this. Our feet can almost stumble; our steps can nearly slip. That’s why a true worship perspective as described in Psalm 73 gets us back on track.

Outwardly the wicked can seem to have the good life. Read Psalm 73:4-15 for Asaph’s sketch of those observations. It looks like we should be envious of materialism. We can end up feeling defeated. But the perspective of God’s power, punishment of sin, and provision for His people changes everything! In worship in God’s sanctuary, Asaph perceives the truly big picture and repents of his envy:

• God judges the wicked and none of their material success saves them (Psalm 73:16-20).
• We are wrong to envy materialism (Psalm 73:21-23).
• God is always with us, protecting, guiding, and holding us eternally. That is priceless (Psalm 73:23-26).
• God settles it all in the end… we don’t! (Psalm 73:27)
• The faithful righteous have much to testify to concerning God’s great work on their behalf. That is the true treasure (Psalm 73:28).