“Don’t get fighting mad at evil people; don’t be envious of the wicked. Indeed, there is no future for the evil; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” (Proverbs 24:19–20 CEB)
Older translations say “Don’t fret.” You probably don’t use the word “fret” often. “Don’t get upset” makes more sense. The trouble is, we find ourselves all too upset too much of the time. The Bible says we should settle down and focus on other things.
The phrase occurs 9 times in the Hebrew OT, and 3 of those are in Psalm 37. Further, Proverbs 24:19 replicates Psalm 37:1 (almost) word for word (see above). So here in these texts we have a good base to understand and apply a direction from the Lord that we tend not to consider: “Don’t get upset.”
Why? Why should we not get all agitated about the plans and prosperings of the wicked? Well, the Bible gives us some answers. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? The Bible actually gives good reasons for what God asks/commands us to do.
The first reason is stated often in Psalm 37, and is a regular theme throughout the Bible. We should not get upset about the wicked, because they will not last. They will “fade fast, like grass,” and “wither” (v.2); “Evildoers will be eliminated” (v.9). A longer section describes it like this: “I myself have seen wicked powerful people, exalting themselves like a stately cedar. But when I came back, they were gone! I looked all over for them, but they couldn’t be found!” (vv. 35-36). Don’t get upset over vanishing threats.
Further, we should not get upset because it reveals that our focus has moved off from God and we have become fixated on something else - the evildoers. We cannot be “spiritually-minded” (thank you, John Owen) and at the same time be preoccupied with evildoers. What we need, for the nourishment and satisfaction of our souls, is to feed upon God. “Don’t get upset” is the 2nd phrase in verse 7. The first phrase reads like this: “Be still before the Lord, and wait for him.” It is tough, no impossible, to commune with God when we are all astir about other things.
The 3rd reason that we should obey the admonition from the Lord, “Don’t get upset,” is because it does bad stuff to us and in us. Verse 8 reads: “Let go of anger and leave rage behind! Don’t get upset - it will only lead to evil.” Now isn’t that something - that in our outrage, we are actually contributing to something that we object to. But that’s what happens when we adopt the world’s methods and attitudes. Let the world rage and outrage. But let the followers of Jesus rest in Him and in His promise.
