Read Psalm 73:1-16.

The Psalmist had a problem, a big problem.  His problem was his envy of the wicked.  He saw people who did not seem to know or love God and saw that their lives seemed easier and more enjoyable than his.  Like many so-called Christians today he had this idea that the people of God should have the most money and the fewest problems.

The enormity of his problem is clear.  He realizes that his thoughts almost caused him to stumble in his life-walk (v2).  He thinks that he has wasted his time living a godly life (v13). 

The enormity is also seen in v14 in the way these ideas apparently had a tight grip on his conscious and unconscious thoughts.  All day long he is consumed with this.  When he awakens in the morning it's the first thing that comes to mind.

How does this happen?  Perhaps it follows some great act of self-sacrifice.  How often do we express some generous act of love towards others, congratulating ourselves for being such fine people, only to wake up the next day angry for letting someone walk all over us?  We complain, "Look what it cost me just to accommodate someone else's immaturity or schedule or need."

Perhaps it is the result of simply being a law-abiding citizen. Perhaps it was true that the guy who was willing to bend the rules, to lie, cheat, and steal, was in fact getting further ahead financially. The Psalmist was paying all his taxes, making all the required contributions to the work of the temple, being generous to the poor, and so forth and so on.  And what was it getting him?

Whatever the situation, the Psalmist was obsessed.  And dealing with it was too painful (v16).  Even though in some small corner of his brain he knew the truth (v1), and though he knew that speaking these ideas would hurt the people around him (v15), he simply could not resolve this.  Until...

Wait!  Before we get to the until let's think about the problem.  Have you had this experience of thinking that your choice to follow Christ was making life in this world harder?  Can you remember a time when you took your cue for life from observing the lives of people around you?  Ultimately the Psalmist felt God was holding out on him in some way.  This thought process is fundamental to what the Bible calls sin.  From the very beginning man's problem has been the belief that obedience to God leaves him diminished in some way (Gen. 3:4-6).  Think about this: How are the lives of the people around you affecting your thoughts and values?