What are you trading for your relationship with God?

There are some things in life that just don’t seem to be fair. Today’s verse is one of those things. It doesn’t seem fair that the wicked prosper and grow rich and have great things. To us, it would be fairer if the wicked were all punished with poverty and had to live on the streets. To us it would be fair if the godly people were blessed with the great riches and fabulous houses.

Life isn’t fair but not for the reasons that you think. God has a plan for the wicked just as He does for the godly. When we think something like this is unfair we are criticizing God. You are not in a position to criticize God. In a recent message that I taught, God helped me to see this more clearly. To criticize God, you must understand what He is doing and you must be able to think like He does. That is not possible; if it were, He would not be God. He is God and you are not.

We have no idea what awaits the wicked; either in this life or in eternal life. If we could get a glimpse of what their eternity is going to be like I believe that we would be much less likely to be bothered by the fact that they are given good things in this life. If we could even imagine the pain and suffering they will endure for all time, we probably would be thankful that they have at least this short life to enjoy.

Also, if we were able to imagine what our own eternity is going to be like in heaven, the things that the wicked have now would pale in comparison. The wealth and riches of this world are garbage compared to the things of heaven. The greatest home on the earth probably wouldn’t be suitable for a pig in heaven. If we truly understood those things we would have a totally different outlook on the things that the wicked enjoy in this life.

When we look at the wicked and are dismayed by the things that they get to enjoy in this life we are also revealing the condition of our hearts. It shows that our hearts have an unhealthy desire for the things of the world. As we surrender more and more of our lives to God, the things of the world should begin to fade in importance in our lives. And it is not that we have or have not those things, it is just their importance that fades. As that happens, the things of others also don’t impress us.

We have to be careful that we don’t allow a desire for the things of the world to replace our desire for a relationship with God. Sadly, God will allow us to trade our relationship with Him for a pursuit of the things of the world. But by sacrificing our relationship with God, we also sacrifice the blessings of the relationship. Don’t be dismayed by the apparent blessings that the wicked are receiving; instead pray that God would be able to reach their souls before it is too late. Jesus, help us to be satisfied with You.

Read: Ecclesiastes 10:1-12:14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 22:20-23