When the Bad Guy Wins--or Does He?
Posted: Friday, August 29, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
Do you ever feel like doing the right thing gets you nowhere? Are you frustrated because it seems like the good guys always get the short end of the stick?
When we look at the world around us, it seems as the bad guys are winning. A good example might be the gangsters in prison; they get recording contracts and are rich before they even step out of the prison gates. Look at corporate America; we read about kickbacks and payoffs to secure contracts.
"It takes money to make money", they say. You have to be rich and famous to get rich and famous. It's obvious to the average guy that sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil to get where you want to be in life. Lie, cheat and steal. Yet, society in general applauds those who went for their dream and are successful--no matter the cost.
Thankfully, there are still members of society who will not stoop to such deeds. They remain hard working, honest, and do their part to help those less fortunate. They even consider success to be measured by how many lives they've touched, not by how many digits are in their bank account.
Still, at times, this can be discouraging to those who try to live a life of goodwill and seek to follow the ways of God.
So what to do we when discouragement and temptation to forget about "living right" and join the ranks of the other members of society come our way? After all they are the ones who seem to get ahead.
King David was a man God, he did his best to live right and serve his fellow man. He did not rise to the top by lying, cheating, or stealing. So why was the world-his little world, against him? I have found comfort in King David's reaction toward the wicked, maybe you will too.
Read the thoughts and prayer of King David as He shares his heart with God.
"No doubt about it! God is good-good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have made it, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the world. Pretentious and arrogant, they wear the latest fashions in violence. Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill, they bully their way with words. They're full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them-can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words. What is going on here? Is God out to lunch?" (Psalm 73:1-11 – The Message.)
These first few verses are comforting--they tell us there is a time when it is okay to share our real feelings with God. He wants us to, in fact.
This part is never a problem for me, I confess. This however is not where we should end. There is more for us to glean from King David-let's read a little bit more of his conversation with God.
"Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. … So I tried to understand why the wicked proper. But what a difficult task it is" (Ps. 73:13-14,16 – The New Living Translation)
(You just have to love David's honesty here, I certainly relate.)
Now that we have laid our complaint out to God, what do we do? How do we reconcile our feelings with the desire we have to end the jealousy in our hearts?
Let's read on.
"Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant, they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant-I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. (Ps. 73:17-24 NLT)
I appreciate the heart of David. This is where I want to be. What a blessing to come full circle and realize the wicked will not prosper forever. Their deeds are recorded; they will answer to God for them--and so it goes for us.
The final step is to repent of our anger toward God and toward the wicked. As David was honest before the Lord, God revealed a bigger picture and he was able to see his own sin of bitterness. He came away from his time with God with a new understanding and strength to continue. I love his conclusion:
"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever…and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do." (Ps. 73:26-, 28b – NLT.)
Therefore, don't let the bad guys get the best of you. Seek the Lord, take comfort in His truth. There is a reason to keep our hearts pure. We are not perfect; King David was not perfect, but we press on nonetheless, repenting when the need arises.
What a motto to live by.
© Teresa Ortiz
Teresa a fast for the age. Great job. It is the underlying theme of this age that we realize why the "good", whomever that is, but who we perceive as such, suffer. It is throughout God's Word why and yet and that YET needs to be capitalized, why do the wealthy ignore it EVEN while professing? Is their a mix up over being saved somewhere since many profess to be who have wealth and lead? If they are saved does it matter if they are good or bad and what they do, especially with their money? NO, I happen to think more like James. If you are, you do. Ok , more thoughts, go get em? regards and blessings, Robertoops, I responded to your comment in the wrong place. read below :-)
I agree, we are not saved by our works alone, nor are we saved just because we believe God exists. We are saved by his grace alone YET true savalation is effevident by the desire to do good and live as God calls us to live. As James said--Faith without works is useless and dead. And as Jesus said you will be known by your fruit. I think there is a fine balance here. Many profess security in heaven because they are "good" people and do "good " deeds, yet they do not put their trust in Jesus Christ. They do not believe they deserve hell and are blinded by their sin. We do not get to heaven by being good. Then there are those on the other end: They say they believe Jesus is the Son of God, they even pray, but they do not love and obey the Lord and His commands. They do not study his word or fellowship with other believers and they blend in with the world and its philosophies--this is not true salvation either.Repent and be converted is what the Bible says. 'Walk the Talk"Lord bless you and thanks for your input. Blessings, Teresa
Very uplifting. I agree with everything you wrote. One of my favorites is the "Prayer of Jabez." Even though he is asking God to "enlarge his territory" he is also asking good to "keep him from evil so that I may not cause pain." Often in the quest to succeed, people either don't see or don't care about the pain they cause others. When we let God remain our strength, we will succeed, and enjoy the wonderful things he has in store for us. We win and the bad guys lose.I'm so glad you were blessed. And thanks for including the prayer of Jabez. I do love how he included a prayer for himself and not just success. God wants us to reach out to the ends of the word, and be all we can be, but never at the expense of others. The other prayer is that of Solomon, God told him to ask whatever he wanted and he asked for wisdom! And in that wisdom, God blessed him financially. Yet in the riches, he fell by the wayside for awhile there. He came back around, but not after much damage is done.Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
Teresa as I just finished anotehr article I wrote to the Temple housing the Holy Spirit and for those who not only profess tobelieve but lead the life and teachings it eminates from there in our deeds. No can't get saved by works but we sure know who believers are by their works. Blessing, Robert. PS hey I read this already.O' so true :-) I will check it out. Thanks for reading and commenting twice. :-)
You are right in that God wishes us to share our feelings with Him. Although He already knows what is in our hearts, I'm sure He appreciates the honesty we show when we bare ourselves to Him and confront for ourselves what is in our hearts and minds. There is a saying 'To Thine Ownself Be True".SandraHi Sandra, thanks for reading and commenting! Yes He does! It is for our benefit not His. Lord bless you girlie!
hi t,this was well written, and easy to follow. i always liked "the meek shall inherit the Earth." this should tell us in which manner we should behave.thanks for sharing,best regards,sueHi Sue, I'm glad it was easy to follow. I appreciate your input. Take a deep breath and enjoy the day :-) May the Lord shower you with wisdom, strength, and health. Love, t
Excellent Teresa,I know God wants us to share everything with him. Even when He already knows our hearts and what we are going through, I think He gets a good laugh when I tell Him what I think I want or need. I am very humbles when I go the full circle.I love your articles, what a gift of writing you have!Love and hugs,Hi Michelle, thanks for your input. We might as well lay it all out before the Lord. It's no surprise to Him, but he sure loves our company :-)Thanks for all your support!! God bless you.
As usual very nice, very good, very very very TRUE...Thanks Teresa for shedding light on the scripture everytime...The buttom line is 'God is in CONTROL always'... May God bless you...Hi Candles, thanks so much. God's word is so relative, we just have to keep digging in and He will show us how to live in peace. Lord Bless you too!
Hi Teresa,Absolutely fantastic article and so true. If everyone would realize that they don't have to hurt others to make it to the top, then we would have a better society. This reminds me of a couple of bible verse. What do you gain, if you gain the whole world, yet lose eternal life. It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle then it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom.I like the fact that we can talk to God, just like we can talk to each other, hide nothing and confess all without him condeming us. I'm glad I read it.Hi Angie, thank you, and thanks so much for adding those two powerful passages from our Lord Jesus.I too love the fact that we can come before the Lord and share our desires and frustrations and then let Him lead the way. Thanks for reading. This is something I am battling with in my own heart regarding writing.Lord bless you!
Good article Teresa as usual :)it definantly does "seem" as though the bad guy gets ahead in life with money and relationships etc.you see the rich talking bad about the poor, you see the bag guy treating the lady not good cheating on them using them etc.but this is only for a short time even if they live a hundred years that is nothing compared to living for eternity with the Lord.Hi Anon,I am assuming you are the same anon who has been reading and commenting on many of my articles lately.I am humbled and blessed :-)You are so right. Even as Paul says that all our sufferings in this life are not even worthy of being compared to glory that is going to be revealved to those who are in Christ.Thanks for all your input. Blessings to you. I must admit, I am curious as to who you are :-)Hello Teresa you don't know me I'm from Australia, this is the first week i have ever been to SW that i know of or remember, i was going to sign up to post articles about my thoughts on the topic but my grammar,punctuation and spelling are not to the standard of the site so i just read and leave a comment here and there. once i am done reading all you're articles that catch my eye i will move on and look at other articles, i have seen several other people's articles and commented etc, but i like to read all of one person's articles first then the next instead of jumping all around the place and forgetting what i was up to, this doesn't mean i wont view your new articles or the new articles that are written by the next person whose articles i have read and move on.i was going to write an article which was more in the form of a question after showing the verse in the bible which says beware of science which is falsely so called. and a few other things i have been thinking aboutkeep up the good work and keep the faith :)
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