Walking with the Wise #18: Cursed or Blessed?

“The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
 

but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.” 

—Proverbs 3:33

The Bible is unequivocal and unremitting in its verdict on the wicked and the righteous. God’s curse is against those who are wicked and He blesses those who are righteous. Such an observation might seem to be a foregone conclusion if one simply reads the words, but we are also students of life as well, and life tells us that the wicked do appear to be blessed at times. All too often Christians live in the realm of clichés rather than biblical truth, which is to say: we talk about the wicked as being cursed, without peace, and without God in their lives, but when we examine their lives the opposite seems to be true.

Now, before we go any further: The Bible is true in all it says, without exception. Too often it is our interpretation of the Bible that has gone disturbingly wrong and we must continually show ourselves to be good Bereans (Acts 17:11) and students of the Word who study to show ourselves approved unto God as workers who have no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15).

Consider for a moment Job and his interaction with his three friends after they came to comfort him after the numerous tragedies he endured. In Job 20, his friend Zophar tried to tell him how much the wicked suffer, but Job disagreed and maintained that the wicked do prosper. He said,

“Why do the wicked live,
 

reach old age, and grow mighty in power?


Their offspring are established in their presence,
 

and their descendants before their eyes.


Their houses are safe from fear,
 

and no rod of God is upon them.


Their bull breeds without fail;
 
their cow calves and does not miscarry.


They send out their little boys like a flock,
 

and their children dance.


They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
 
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.


They spend their days in prosperity,
 

and in peace they go down to Sheol.


They say to God, 'Depart from us!
 

We do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.


What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?


And what profit do we get if we pray to Him?'


Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
 

The counsel of the wicked is far from me”

—Job 21:7-16.

Job’s words are true. The wicked do prosper and carry on their merry way, seemingly without a care in the world. However, Job’s words and other Scriptures do not contradict one another. There is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21), they do not have God, nor do they have hope (Ephesians 2:12). God’s blessing is not upon them. Yes, they may experience good things, and good people may experience bad things, but we must remember, the good and bad we experience, along with the prosperity of life and good heath, are not necessarily indicators of one’s spiritual state. The spiritual state of a person is where we must look, not in the outward blessings and bounties.

This calls for great discernment for the Christian. God inspires hard truth, and only the spiritual can truly discern and apply them. We must remember that while all are under the curse of the Fall, there is still the general blessing of God upon humanity, as Jesus said, “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust”—Matthew 5:45. And God gives us all of the abilities we have (Deuteronomy 8:18). He created us with certain abilities and skills, which can be used to help us procure great wealth, success and power. And while He has blessed some with material means, this by no means implies that He doesn’t care for the poor and less fortunate. No, He loves those who are societal outcasts, just as much as He loves the wealthy, successful and powerful. But He desires that we love and help the poor, because they do not have as many opportunities or abilities to help alleviate their poverty or plight as the wealthy do.

It doesn’t matter what one accomplishes in this world, because God is no respecter of persons and all must become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of God (cf. Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11; Matthew 18:2-4). Jesus’ death is meant to save the King just as it is meant to save the poorest of the poor because all are sinners and are in need of salvation.

God’s blessing is on the house of the righteous, but not in the way that many expect. God wants to do more of a work in us and through us spiritually, more than He wants to establish us with material blessings. Our example is Christ here, and it is through the lens of His suffering and passion that we must understand both blessing and curse. God established salvation through the suffering of the Son, and since He is our example, we know that we are going to suffer as well. God may well have us suffer in our poverty and pains, but in doing so He is doing a work in us and through us that we may well not see—but others do. It may seem strange to some, but God wants to be glorified in us, and He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. This satisfaction is not seen in material blessings as much as it is in our suffering. His blessing is seen in our lives and through our legacies whenever we continually find our satisfaction in the midst of whatever trial, tribulation or tragedy we go through. So, when the Proverb says that His curse is on the house of the wicked, it means his descendants and legacy. God may bless materially, but spiritually the family has not been awakened to their real and lasting need—salvation in Christ. But, the righteous are blessed—which is to say that the righteous have a lasting blessing seen in their descendants. The children of the righteous see Christ magnified in the stresses and problems of life and are drawn to it. God’s hand comes upon them in a tangible way as many others are able to see what Christ means to them.

Is Christ seen in your life? Can your children, if you have any, see Jesus’ presence in your everyday life? Can Jesus be seen by others in your trials, temptations and tragedies? Is He magnified in your suffering? Know that God is doing a work in you that is unfathomable and one that we must take by faith, as the apostle John wrote:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is”—1 John 3:2.

May God be glorified in us as we are most satisfied in Him, to the praise and honor of His great and glorious name. Amen.