two pieces

Week 13  Psalm 92

Verse seven says: although the wicked flourish like weeds, and evildoers blossom with success, there is only eternal destruction ahead of them. So there’s two pieces. Piece #1: wicked people will be successful. Piece #2: evil people will end up in a state of permanent destruction. Taken together Pieces #1 & #2 make up the full picture. But today Piece #1 jumps out at me…evil people will be successful.
There’s no law of the universe saying a bad person can’t be successful. Evilness and success can go hand-in-hand. And even though there’s also no law says I have to be bad to succeed the main point in Piece #1 is that there are villains who are high-achiever villains.
Of course Piece #2 seems to balance things out in the end – the writer says: with my own eyes I have seen the downfall of my enemies. But I don’t get the impression a good person is guaranteed to witness the fail of an evil person. An evil guy might even live his whole life and outlive the good guy and then die a success.
That doesn’t mean he outsmarts and avoids Piece #2. But for me it’s a reminder that a ruthless violent corrupt person might be very successful. So I shouldn’t be surprised when I see it. And even if I know his success is only in the short-term it’s still a success (and for all I know a rogue’s short-term might still end up seeming pretty gallingly long).

Note: quotes from Psalm 92:7 & 11 (NLT)