Week 45 Psalm 92
Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever.
I’m mostly interested in what the writer admits in the first half of the verse – that evil & corrupt people can be very successful. It seems like that’s just an existential reality of life. If success here-and-now is the test for success then evil people can & do win.
Psalm 92 is telling me ‘that’s just the way things are’. It’s making a point about how things work and the point is that bad people can be very successful.
There are a bunch of contributing factors that go into achieving success in this world and being good or bad aren’t (necessarily) two of them. Things like being talented. Smart. Good-looking. Fairly ruthless. Competent & capable. Self-serving. Lying (when necessary). Working hard. Stepping on people (when necessary). Coming from a rich family or having a strong backer. Being lucky. Being focussed & strong-minded. Being an influencer & a good communicator. Being mentally & psychologically strong. Like that. With these kinds of qualities a bad guy can be successful.
So I figure this is useful to keep in mind to save myself from fighting against unchangeable facts.
The end of the verse says that wicked people are doomed to destruction forever. That’s a pretty serious forecast – something for a person to remember. But in the meantime I need to accept that the success of evil people is just one of life’s norms.
Note: quote from Psalm 92:7 (ESV)