“The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous; He mocks those who mock but gives grace to the humble. The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Think for a minute about the last time you saw somebody get away with something they shouldn’t have gotten away with. Remember for a second the last time you prayed something along the lines of, “God, when are you going to do something about ______________?” We live in a world in which it seems like the wicked prosper all the time. Evil people thrive while good people get punished for their good deeds. Why does God allow all of that? The truth is that He won’t forever, and wise people understand and live in light of that truth. Let’s talk about it.

That nagging question of how long God is going to allow the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer is not one that is somehow unique to our time and place. People have been asking it since time immemorial. In fact, one of the first documented instances of its being asked is in the Scriptures themselves. In the work of prophecy in the Old Testament we call Habakkuk, the prophet opens his message with this very question.

God, why are you allowing injustice to flourish in the land? People who do evil aren’t facing consequences for their actions so they just keep doing it and with more and more boldness. What is your plan? Habakkuk throws this challenge at God’s feet bristling with righteous indignation.

And doesn’t it feel good to go on a righteous tirade like that every now and then? We just put all our complaints into one big mic drop moment and walk away feeling satisfied. Virtue signaling like this can be a most cathartic experience. Doing this is almost guaranteed to get applause from the world around us too. They’ll applaud our courage to speak truth to power and hold guilty people accountable.

But do you know how much actual injustice has been affected by virtue signaling? Yeah, not any in even the smallest amount. Virtue signaling is a coward’s cover for not doing something meaningful to contribute to the solution for things they correctly identify as problems. Often the people who are busy virtue signaling will belittle a believer’s commitment to prayer as “doing nothing.”

What Habakkuk found when he prayed, though, was something more than he bargained for. God actually responded to his prayers. But the answer he received was not necessarily the answer he was seeking. Oh, God addressed his complaint. He declared that He agreed with Habakkuk about the state of his people. What’s more, He was going to take action to address the issue. He was going to bring judgment on the nation. Unfortunately for Habakkuk (and the rest of people too for that matter), the judgment God was going to bring was going to be delivered via the Babylonians.

Habakkuk openly struggles with this even more than he struggled with his original complaint. Yes, Israel was in bad shape, but the Babylonians?!? They were way worse. How could God bring judgment on the unjust by using the even more unjust? But not to worry, God said, Babylon would be getting their due as well. In fact, part of what was going to seal their fate was how they were going to treat Isreal. In the end, justice would be served to everyone. No one would be exempt from it. The Lord’s curse really was going to be on the household of the wicked. He really was going to mock those who mock. He really was going to hold fools up to dishonor.

It’s sometimes hard to see that here and now, but that’s why studying the Scriptures is so important. There we find story after story of God bringing justice on the wicked. We see Him promise it and then deliver it. This gives us the confidence that His promises that are still as of yet unfulfilled to bring judgment on the wicked will yet be revealed as true.

Okay, but what about the other side of each of these lines? Where is the blessing on the home of the righteous? Where is the grace given to the humble? Where is the honor the wise are supposed to inherit? Rather than grousing about blessings you can’t see, perhaps it would be worth your time asking those who are righteous, humble, and wise about the blessings they have received for their commitment to reflecting God’s character in and through their lives.

Have they experienced blessings that you can’t see by external observation? Have they perhaps experienced the peace of God that surpasses all understanding? Have they experienced the wonder of restored and reconciled relationships that were once considered hopelessly divided? Have they seen needs met in unexpected ways? What is their reputation in the community around them and how has this made their lives easier than they might have been? What people have had their lives made better because of being in the sphere of influence of these kinds of folks and what kind of humble satisfaction with God’s goodness delivered through them has this given them? Do they have children and other family members who are serving the Lord faithfully and who are taking good care of them into their old age because of the righteousness they pursued as parents? The truth is that there are all kinds of blessings God can give those who have committed themselves to His ways that you will never see or hear about unless you set out to look deeper.

And in addition to all of that, there are the many, many promises we find in the Scriptures that God will yet reward those who have been faithful with eternal life and blessings in abundance when His final kingdom comes. We trust in these in the same way and for the same reasons we trust in His promises to bring justice and judgment on the wicked. We trust in these promises and we live accordingly. This approach is always where life can be found.