So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich
Psalms 49:16-17 (NLT)
and their homes become ever more splendid.
For when they die, they take nothing with them.
Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.
This passage may not seem encouraging at first since it is about judgment on the wicked, but I think it is one of the most encouraging truths in Scripture.
We often observe that compromising or unscrupulous or faithless people become successful in this life. And godly people often do not become prosperous. But God assures us that this is not the end of the story. Everyone will be judged one day (2 Cor. 5:10) and everyone “will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Cor. 5:10, NLT).
Moreover, God has promised a new and better Garden of Eden for our eternal dwelling. As we absorb all this our hearts naturally lose their desire for the world’s riches and success. If God blesses us in our vocation that is fine, but if we don’t become a model of success we are just as thankful for what we have now and will have on the New Earth. Ultimately, God will distribute prosperity to whom it belongs and prosperity in this life means very little by comparison.
