Psalm 73:4a English Standard Version (ESV) For they have no pangs until death;

Continuing on from yesterday let us examine the issue of conscience.

The wicked in their success will not demonstrate a conscience about what they have done to win. When lie, cheat and steal are all part of a game with no rules, they have done nothing wrong.

Grace and mercy, honor and righteousness are how we live this life in Christ. Our conscience guides us to act rightly. No one who gains wealth will look at our efforts as winning. Love of money is everything to them.

When we aim to win Christ we play by a different set of rules. This is not a game, it is life. The wicked will only recognize that fact when they are confronted with death, and then it is too late.

1 Corinthians 9:21 English Standard Version (ESV) To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

We are under the law of love. The demands of love are much more stringent than any law spoken of in the commandments or in the laws of mankind. Love our neighbors no matter their condition or how they treat us. Pray for those who spitefully abuse us. Forgive others even if they do not seek it.

We will not find those rules in the playbook of the wicked. Win at all cost is their motto.

It will cost them their souls but they do not value their own souls. They might not even believe they have a soul. They do not live by our definitions, nor do we live by theirs.

The standard of living for the wicked is what they can take.

The standard of living in Christ is in what we can give.