Proverbs 23:17-18 (ESV)
17 Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
The wise, according to Saying 15, are instructed to refrain from passionately longing for what sinners have, and instead keep the fear of the Lord as their focus. The one who consistently makes decisions motivated by a reverential awe of God and his authority will live eternally. In the future, God will wrap up this era of man living on earth and call all to account in judgment. Those who rejected the Lord and mistreated his people will experience his wrath, while those who placed their trust in him, patiently waiting upon him and doing what is right, will be blessed beyond measure. If you see the temporary prosperity of the wicked around you and wonder why things seem to go so well for them, don’t forget their end. It is senseless to envy the ease of the ungodly. When you fix your eyes on heaven, the apparent unfairness of this life quickly dims.