Payday

Psalm 37 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NASB). The late singer Fats Domino recorded a song entitled “Blue Monday.” The song begins with the words, “blue Monday, blue Monday, how I hate blue Monday, got to work like a slave all day.” The song continues with a description of each day in the week. The week is filled with difficulties, but Friday is the day “I get my pay.” Saturday and Sundays are good days. With Friday’s pay comes a fun Saturday. Sunday is a day of rest. Then the week begins again. It is blue Monday. The good news is that there is payday. The Bible speaks to us about a payday. In the New Testament payday is the day that Jesus Christ returns to the earth. On that day the people are judged and receive their pay or rewards. The books are opened and those whose names are found in the book will receive their reward. They will enter into the presence of the Lord, and they will live with Him throughout eternity. Those whose names are not found written in the book of life with get their pay (Rev. 20:12). In the Old Testament the people believe that God always causes good things to happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. They believe that if something bad happens to a person, it is because the person has done something wrong. This brings a problem and the problem still exists today. The problem: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do the wicked prosper at the expense of the righteous? What are good people supposed to do? Psalm 37 is a good place to begin to answer these questions. Psalm 37 is classified as a wisdom psalm. The writer gives the righteous instructions on how they are to conduct themselves in life; and especially in the face of evil that exist in the world. The first four verses set the tone for the song: “Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:1-4, NASB). Those who trust in the Lord will be established, and the evildoer will be destroyed. Now, let us be real. What do you say to the parent(s) that have done all the right things for their child only to have their child shot down with a military assault weapon? What do we expect from a grieving father who must now live with the reality that he will never see his little girl again? What do we say to him? What can we offer a mother or father to bring them comfort in a time like this? What do we say to the father that learns in a court room that his daughter has been sexually assaulted by the medical doctor who has taken an oath to promote health and wellness to his clients? What kind of God are we putting our trust in? How can I believe in a God that allows so much pain and suffering? These are tough questions and the standard answers given in church are insufficient. People are asking, “How can I believe in a God that allows suffering, pain, and death to innocent people?” “Why does God allow an infant child to be swept away by the winds of a tornado?” It is often the case that we cannot answer people’s questions adequately when they are suffering at the hands of the wicked. My daughter tells me that when she was growing up she would ask questions. The standard answers were “you just got to pray.” You just have to trust God.” Yes we need to pray, and we need to trust God. However, I ask, How can I trust in a God that I do not know? How can I trust in a God that I do not understand? Why should I pray when as far as I can see prayer does nothing to help me with my situation? What can set me free from the circumstances that surround me every day of my life? What can I say to the person that brings these questions to me? They have read Psalm 37. It seems to offer great promises, but these promises are not a part of my reality. I believe that the Psalm answers our questions. First, our hope is in God. He is our refuge in times of trouble (Ps. 46:1). What we must understand is that our hope is not in changed situations. Rather, our hope is in God. Secondly, the psalm does not speak to every individual in every situation in the present time. Instead, the psalm instructs us to trust in the Lord regardless of what takes place in our life. In Psalm 23 God does not remove the valley and the shadow of death. God does not remove the evil. Instead, God is our shepherd as we walk through the valley. He leads us, feeds us, and protects us. You might say God did not protect the seventeen youth shot down and killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland, Florida. I will address this later, but for now I simply say that God protected them, and He still protects them. Let us look at this psalm as a description of what takes place in a war. Why do I mention war? It is because there is a war going on between the righteous and the wicked; between God and the evil one. In a war some soldiers get wounded, and some soldiers get killed. Yet, the army wins the battle. The army wins the war. The writer of Psalm 37 is a promise to Israel that God has established her, and He will keep her if she will trust in Him and do what is right. However, the psalmist gives us a warning. He writes, “Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing” (v.8). When the righteous become jealous of evildoers there is a good chance that they will adopt their ways so that they too can prosper and have the same advantages that the evil ones have. This warning is immediately followed with a promise. The psalmist writes, “For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land” (v. 9). But, again, how does this help the grieving parent, sibling and friend of the dead one? The psalmist answers these questions in verses 35-40. The wicked passes away. The transgressors are destroyed. Salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He delivers them and saves them. He saves the ones that take refuge in Him. So, the army wins the battle. The army wins the war. Yet, you say, “This does not bring my child back to me. My child is dead and no words can heal my broken heart. Thank you for your prayers, but my child is not coming back. The wicked continue to inflict pain, suffering and death upon the righteous. So, what now? What more do you say to me?” The answer is this: Ultimately, the believer’s final outcome is in the Lord, the God of our salvation. This brings us to Romans 6:23 stated at the beginning of this article. In the book of Romans Apostle Paul teaches us that our final hope is not in this life. In this life all are sinners and slaves to sin. We are set free from the penalty of sin though faith in Jesus Christ who died to redeem us from sin and to reconcile us to God. The end of this life in the physical realm is not the end. In the end there is a day of rewards for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. On that day the wicked who have died in their sins will receive their pay. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Finally, we must not fret when we see evil. The word “fret” means to be angry, to be jealous. So, the psalmist is telling us to not get angry with God when we see God allowing the evildoers to have their ways. Otherwise, we are tempted to adopt the ways of the wicked. Do not stop trusting in the Lord. Wait patiently on the Lord. The wicked put their hope in riches and worldly gains. Our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus. We want to keep trusting God, knowing that He knows our pains. He sees our tears. He is intimately able to identify with us because He is our high priest who was tempted as we are tempted. He suffered just as we suffer. Yet, he did not sin. He died on the cross. He truly died. He entrusted His life into the hands of the Father. He was resurrected on the third day. God is our refuge and we too like Jesus will be resurrected to live with the Lord forever. Payday is coming.