The slippery slope of envy - A reflection of Psalm 73

How would you finish this sentence: 

‘If God is good, he will give me…’

What would you say? 

Well, I would probably say that if God is good, he would give me a fancy house to live in. 

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a party at a very big and beautiful house. I had the most warm and friendly hosts a person could ask for. They were kind enough to open their home to me and to share what they had with me and in that moment, my little studio-like apartment seemed insufficient, too crowded, and obviously lacking in the grandeur aspect of things. I was envious but I did not know that I was. I just thought that it is a normal and acceptable life experience. 

But is it really? 

In Psalm 73, we are taken along a journey of envy that starts on slippery feet. The Psalmist answers the question I put forward previously. He starts by acknowledging that God is indeed good. This is what he says: 

Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked

The ‘but’ in verse 2 is where we get the Psalmist’s answer to the question. Yes, God is good, but if he was really good, the Psalmist would be as prosperous as the wicked, or even more prosperous than them. What do the wicked have that makes the Psalmist envious? Here are some verses that help us understand: 

5 They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies. 

And most importantly: 

12 Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches. 

Yes, says the Psalmist, God is good. But if he is, why are the wicked always at ease, never stricken, and growing fat because of their riches and abundance? Have you ever had this experience? Can you relate to what the Psalmist is feeling? Have you ever wondered something like “why them and not me”? I know I have asked this so many times even about people that are Christians and not like the wicked referred to in this Psalm to the point where I begin to doubt my convictions and regret my little efforts to be a faithful Christian. And this is exactly where the Psalmist is at in verse 13 when he says: 

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.

Fortunately, this is not how the story ends. Verse 16 has another ‘but’ that changes the Psalmist’s perspective and attitude. What changes? He entered God’s sanctuary and there he got insight and truth. This is what he says: 

16 But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end. 

Here the Psalmist is referring to the future of those he envies. The verses that follow go on to describe an end that is very different to the easy and rich lives the wicked live. This is how their end will be like: 

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
    swept away utterly by terrors!

Is this something worth envying? If the wicked he envies are fattened by their wealth and have no pangs until death but have an end that is smothered in ruin, destruction, and terror, is envy the right response to what the Psalmist sees around him? Can he truly say that if God is as good as he has described in verse one, that he would give him what the wicked have? The Psalmist’s answer is a resounding ‘no’! He needs something grander than what the wicked have and something that will last beyond death. He realises that he has exactly that when he enters God’s sanctuary. He has God himself, not the riches or the ease of life, but God. Look at how different his attitude is in verse 25 and 26: 

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The Psalmist sings a new song - not one of envy but one of contentment because he can think of nothing on earth and in heaven that is as valuable and lasting as God. There is no indication that his situation has changed, that he has become wealthier or that his problems have gone away. All we are given is an indication of the change in his perspective when he enters God’s sanctuary and considers what the wicked have, their end and how little it is in comparison to having God as a portion forever. 

What can we do when we are envious? Like the Psalmist, we can turn our eyes to God. When we look to him, we will see not a stingy but a generous God - one that sacrificed his only begotten Son for us so that we can be brought into his family and enjoy him forever. When we truly understand the immense sacrifice that God made, we will understand that he truly has given us the best thing we could ever need, not because we deserve it, but because, like the Psalmist said in verse 1, God truly is good. 

I want to encourage you to flee the slippery slope of envy by turning your eyes to the God who has given you all you need by sending you a Saviour. Like the Psalmist, let your heart sing of the emptiness and limitedness of the things of this world by uplifting the God by whom we can compare nothing in heaven and on earth with.