Envy is that thing that makes you feel you should have worn that blue dress because it looks nice on her and you had on blue but changed to red; or, wishing your boyfriend looked like hers; or wishing your body shape was like his but you simply don’t have the same genes. It’s wanting what someone else has and it’s discontentment with what you have.

Psalm 73 is all about envy. Written by Asaph, it’s a reminder about being envious of others until we draw near to God to get his perspective on how perfect we think the lives of others are.

Asaph opens with recognizing the goodness of God and it’s as if he’s telling his testimony that he almost stumbled because he became envious of others. But these others were boastful and wicked underneath it all. He saw them as people with no life problems. Pride, violence, wickedness, lofty speech, and scoffing are their delight. They mock the heavens, have no use of God, but they seem to increase in riches.

As Asaph writes this Psalm it seems as if he is suffering because he has been faithful to God and he doesn’t have the wealth and influence of these people he is envious of (see verses 13-15).

This really caused him great pain trying to understand it all (see verse 16). But then he decided to go to God and it’s only then that he’s able to see through a Godly lens that these people he’s envying have an end (see verse 17). These people are indeed on slippery places, set for destruction (see verses 18-19). God is displeased with their lifestyles.

And so now, because Asaph is looking through a Godly lens, he calls his former thinking foolish and ignorant (see verse 22). He decided to make God his anchor and wants His right hand with him. He wants to be guided by God’s counsel and to be received by God’s glory. It is God who Asaph desires. Even though he has fallen, he recognizes God as his strength.

The significance of the story is that the people Asaph envied were far from God. The ungodly are far from God but they will perish. Their end is destruction by the hand of God. And, the best place in life to be is with God, in relationship with Him and to trust Him (see verses 27-28).

Happy Friday!