Potpourri - Why Do People Who Don't Know, or Even Care to Know God Seem to Prosper Just Fine?

I've been teaching a Summer Series called “Potpourri”.  It’s a series of teachings based on topics, scripture, themes, our fellowship’s folk sent to me to teach on.

I’ve done four so far…and posted them previously.  

Last week we dove into this one on why people who seemingly don’t care about God do just fine in life, in fact, seem to do better than believers.

I have to say, I’ve thought about this a number of times in my own life.  It makes me aware of the recent teaching on jealousy and the subject we dealt with on “where is God when people suffer?”. 

We can’t help but wonder why God seemingly blesses those who don’t care and allows those who do care to go throw life with some difficult issues.

In fact, I would say some people argue that this is why they don’t believe in God – because there seemingly is no difference…

Well, that’s not the final issue, and that’s what we need to see… I'll begin this today and (hopefully) complete it tomorrow.

The issue is anchored in one of the Psalms

Psalm 73:1-12 (ESV)
¹  Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
²  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
³  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
⁴  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind…

¹¹  And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹²  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

I gave my life to Christ when I was 20.  Went to Seminary after graduating from college – in Chattanooga, TN.  By the time I was done with Seminary I was 25.  I had a Master’s degree and school debt, and no church.

So, we came back to Wisconsin.  I got a job selling insurance.  I met 2 Christian farmers in the Randolph area while selling insurance and it was through them that I eventually began to pastor the Congregational Church in 1977.

What most people don’t know is that I tried to bargain with God to not Pastor, but instead to sell insurance.  Why?  Well, it was simple...I had worked all the way through Seminary, sometimes at three part time jobs.  IFor a time in Chattanooga, I was on the faculty of the school teaching in the college, but I still worked outside of that to make a living. The most money I had made through those school years was in 1974, and it was about $7000.

I came back in 1975 and I got the insurance job and I was given an area to sell, as well as a bunch of leads.  Selling insurance is a feast or famine kind of thing…but I was good at it.  In my first year I became “Rookie of the Year” in the company, and made over $25,000.  How much is that today?  With the price of inflation at 3%, it is about $112,000 today.  Not bad.

Everyone in our company did fine.  They owned their own homes, had a couple of cars, boats, golf, winter trips to warm places, etc…

SO…when Sam asked me to come and preach at the church, I said “Sure”…and then within a few weeks the elders asked if I would be willing to become the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Randolph.  The Pay?  $300/month and the Parsonage was rent free.  We paid the utilities.  $3600 then with inflation factored in is $16,000 today.  $112,000 or $16,000?   

I knew that this is what God wanted me to do…and so did Linda; and yet surrendering the good income was a difficult thing to do.  I even tried to bargain with God but ultimately I knew that selling and pastoring weren't compatible things to do.  So I stepped away from my insurance job.  I can still see the look on my boss' face when I told him.  He couldn't believe I would walk away from a job I was doing well in.

As a Pastor, trying to do God’s call never meant we’d be well off.  When our kids were growing we usually lived paycheck to paycheck.  

As our kids grew up the amount of income I made increased and we weathered those years.  

In all of the years we saw God’s faithfulness to us.  We didn't have a lot of money, but we made it and that is only described as being contented.

SO…is that the destiny of those who walk with God?  To live humbly without a lot compared to those around them who seemingly don’t care about God and do just fine.

I watched neighbors go on vacations, buy new cars, fishing boats, etc…and I certainly wished I had the money to do those things, but we never did.  My neighbors were - for the most part - not Christians.  They slept in on Sundays, read the newspapers, drank coffee, relaxed and did their own thing.  They didn't suffer, they had money, they lived happily - it seems.

That’s a dilemma that this man, ASAPH… a writer of the Psalms…faces when he begins to write Psalm 73…

Psalm 73:1-15 (ESV)
¹  Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
²  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
³  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
⁴  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind…

¹¹  And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹²  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

That’s the dilemma.

A Lot of people walk faithfully with God, love Him, Obey Him, and Worship Him, but their neighbors are driving new cars, lots of toys and a big house, etc…and they don’t care at all about God.

Asaph’s dilemma is simply this:  Why does God allow bad people to prosper?

Psalm 73:13-14 (ESV)
¹³  All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴  For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 

What is Needed is a Biblical Perspective....That's Next:

Peace