Righteous Anger and Fretting - Dr. Paulson Pulikottil

Let the wicked prosper but instead of getting frustrated at their prosperity let us leave it to God to deal with them. Let the righteous conserve their energies to do what is right and not expend it on dealing with the wickedness of the wicked!

The presence of the wicked person in the society is destructive. The psalmist in Psalm 37 knows well that these are people who borrow but never pay back. The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously (Psalms 37:21 NIV). The wicked are those who oppress the weak and the innocent. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. Psalms 37:14.

For reasons that we may never know it is true that the wicked has outnumbered the righteous in every generation. To expect to create a world where there is no wickedness could be a mere Utopia. The wickedness is there to stay. One wicked man goes but two will come in his place and the wickedness will always continue. By nature the righteous person cannot tolerate wrong.

They burn with righteous anger. Especially when we see the wicked persons succeed in their wicked ways we become frustrated and sometimes may question the justice of God. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes Psalms 37:7.

The psalmist has some advice for those people who in their relationship with God and in their involvement in the society are righteous. His advice is for those who would like to see righteousness established and prevail. “Do not fret” is the advice. Put it another way: let not the wicked make you angry by their wickedness. The foremost reason is that there is no need to fret.

The wicked are not here for ever, Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away, Psalms 37: 1-2. They do exist but only for a short while. They are the most transient of all: like grass that withers. Why should we waste our energy being angry while they are already under God’s wrath and will be consumed in due course? Verse 10 (A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found), reaffirms the thought of verse 2 that the wicked will not last forever.

Thus our fretting is unnecessary. Secondly, fretting could lead to sin; meaning it could turn a righteous to wicked. In other words, it is counterproductive. This is what we find in verse 8 – Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil. By being angry at the wicked, and in their zeal to deal with wickedness, the righteous may be tempted to do things are not pleasing to God. Thirdly, it is better to be content with what one has than being unhappy with what the wicked has gathered with his wickedness.

This will take away any reason to be unhappy with the prosperity of the wicked people. At the same time, the righteous is cared for by the Lord. This thought is scattered throughout the psalm in verse 16, 18, 19 etc. – Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked… The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. Let the wicked prosper but instead of getting frustrated at their prosperity let us leave it to God to deal with them. Let the righteous conserve their energies to do what is right and not expend it on dealing with the wickedness of the wicked!