5 Reasons Not To Envy the Wicked

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
    which cannot rest,
    whose waves cast up mire and mud.
”There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.

Isaiah 57:20-21

The ocean and its angry waves serve as a metaphor for the soul of the wicked.

If there were only one Bible verse I wish my kids and grandkids would memorize, it would be from Isaiah 57.

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” - Isaiah 57:21

Before I give you 5 reasons why no one should ever envy the wicked, rich, and famous, I think it wise to define “wicked” and “peace.”

When people think of the adjective “wicked,” we usually think of someone like Adolph Hitler, or Jeffrey Dahmer (a serial killer), or a monster like Frankenstein.

But the Bible defines a wicked person as one who says in their heart:

“I am forever the eternal Queen. I am… and there is no one but me.” - Isaiah 47:7-8

According to the Scripture, a wicked person thinks of themself as “God.” The personal name for God in the Bible is YHWH (Hebrew), which translates as “I am,” or more precisely, “I will be…”

A wicked person refuses God “to be” the LORD or Authority over their life. Instead, they see themselves and say, “I am the Queen forever. Nobody rules over me.”

The wicked say, “I am forever the eternal Queen” of my life (Isaiah 47:7-8).

No Peace

The word Peace in Hebrew is the word Shalom (spelled in Hebrew below).

The meaning of the word “SHALOM” is not “the absence of war.”

Shalom (peace) in the Bible means:

“Inner peace and completeness brought on by sharing in His countenance and His protection.”

God’s people (Israel) rarely experienced times of outward peace. Still, even amid every battle, God’s people could have inward rest and peace brought on by the presence of the LORD, regardless of the outward circumstances.

God gives shalom (peace) to His People.

5 Reasons Not to Envy the Wicked Rich and Famous