Proverbs 24:19

29

"Fret not thyself because of evil-doers; Neither be thou envious at the wicked: For there shall be no reward to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out."

Here is the basic proposition upon which the love and worship of God are founded, namely, his hatred of wickedness. The basic assumption of the God-fearing worshipper is that wickedness cannot win, that there will come a time when God in righteous wrath will rise up and cast evil out of his universe. The judgment scene in Matthew 25 envisions that very thing. For the people who understand this, the envy of the wicked, regardless of what blessings they may enjoy in the present life, is absolutely an impossibility.

It is a thoughtless Christian indeed who will fret himself because of success and blessings that attend obviously wicked people. It is inevitable that in a world where nearly all the people are moving in open rebellion against God, that all kinds of injustices and inequities should be, at times, the portion of the godly.

"The prosperity of the wicked is only temporary; they are detested by God (Proverbs 3:32), and are doomed (Proverbs 24:20)."[12] The second line of Proverbs 24:20 is identical with that of Proverbs 13:9.