Why do the wicked prosper?

One of the recurring questions in Scripture is why the wicked prosper (Jer. 12:1; Ps. 73:3–12; Mal. 3:15).

When you look out at the world with the naked eye, it often appears that those who reject God or live dishonorably are the ones gaining wealth, influence, and status. They rise quickly. Their platforms grow. They seem to sit on top of things.

Meanwhile, many faithful, hard-working, obedient men often have a fraction of that wealth and influence.

So the question naturally rises, sometimes as a prayer and sometimes as a complaint: Why is this so?

Before getting to any explanation, it needs to be said plainly that this is so. The wicked do prosper. Compromised men prosper. Charlatans prosper. Scripture is full of examples. History is full of examples of this fact.

That alone should caution us against treating prosperity or influence as a stamp of righteousness. They are not.

This matters especially in an age where influence itself is treated as a moral good, as though reach and righteousness are the same thing. They are not.

The reality is that the wicked prosper only for a time. Even if that time stretches to a hundred years, it is nothing in the light of eternity. It’s not even a drop in the ocean. And the list of once-powerful wicked men who were “a big deal” in their day but are now forgotten is long.

Prosperity can also be a form of judgment. God often gives the wicked exactly what they want, and in doing so, hardens them. We call this judicial hardening. The Lord lets them climb higher so that the fall is greater.

As the Psalmist says, "Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin" (73:18).

This often happens in this life. It always happens in the life to come.

At times, God uses ordinary men as instruments of judgment to expose such people. He brings things to light through confrontation or simple faithfulness over time. But more often than not, He does not give you that role. And when He doesn’t, you are left with the harder work: trusting His justice and waiting for His timing to deal with it in some other way.

God does bless the diligent. He establishes them in their households, often across generations. The righteous do prosper, but frequently in ways the carnal man cannot see or value. Their prosperity is quieter and slower. It doesn’t always trend or dazzle, but it lasts.