“Do not be envious of evil men nor desire to be with them, for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking…Do not fret because of evildoers nor be envious of the wicked, for there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out” (Proverbs 24:1-2, 19-20).
Envying the wicked is one of Satan’s many effective devices. The psalmist Asaph confessed that his feet had almost stumbled and his steps had nearly slipped because he was envious of the boastful when he saw the prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 73:2-3). A superficial, worldly consideration of the wicked is foolish for two significant reasons:
- The content of the wicked’s hearts (vv. 1-2). Their focus is not upon ennobling things like truth, righteousness, purity, loveliness, and virtue. Rather, it is on violence and trouble making. Their pride is like a necklace, and violence covers them like a garment (Ps. 73:6). Their mouths are vile, profane, and blasphemous (Ps. 73:9). If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, what is there to envy?
- The conclusion of the wicked’s life (vv. 19-20). Evildoers have no hope of eternal life; their future is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and Jehovah’s fiery indignation (Heb. 10:27). When Asaph “understood their end” (Ps. 73:17)—how the wicked would be brought to desolation and utterly consumed with terrors (Ps. 73:19)—he found his envy to be foolish, ignorant, and beastly (Ps. 73:22). His heart was grieved and his mind was vexed with himself (Ps. 73:21). Because the lamp of the wicked will be eternally extinguished, what is there to envy?
