Proverbs 23: 17-18

Let not your heart envy sinners,
     but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
Surely there is a future,
     and your hope will not be cut off.

The writer of Psalm 73 had a problem envying the unrighteous and for very visible reasons. The wicked prospered and everything went well for them. They had no troubles, at least to the naked eye. Notice how verse 17 presents the everydayness of the godly life. It is a life with perhaps little glamour while sinners seem to enjoy the full, prosperous, and easy life. It can be easy for sinners. They are not encumbered by the weight of guilt, shame, and desire for repentance that the godly have. They may also enjoy creature comforts and earthly pleasures while the godly persevere in difficult circumstances. The enjoyment of these comforts by the unrighteous can be, at the very least, distracting to the godly as they follow Christ in their daily (and all day) obedience and fear of the Lord.

But notice verse 18 and thank God for it. It was the theme of this verse that comforted and reassured the writer of Psalm 73. As he came to his senses, the Psalmist discerned the end of the ungodly, which was not good and pleasant. “They have no pangs until death “(Psalm 73:4). In verse 18 we are told we have a sure hope of better things for now and a sure future of eternal blessings. Yes, the ungodly may have instant or short-tem satisfaction and may even achieve notable accomplishments, but they have no sustaining hope or sure future.

In the minds of those who are of this world, there is nothing beyond death. How wrong they are and they are wrong on two counts.

First, there is a sure future beyond death that is filled with eternal delights for those who trust in Christ.

Second, there is a sure future beyond death for those who turn away from the gospel. Those who do that will suffer an eternity of damnation and punishment.

We all have a future beyond the grave. What is yours?