Why Do Bad People Prosper? The Answer Will Mess You Up
There’s a reason—and it’s not what you were taught
You’ve seen it. The corrupt thrive. The deceitful rise. The ruthless tighten their grip on power. Meanwhile, good and honest people struggle just to get by. It’s infuriating. It makes you wonder if doing the right thing even matters anymore.
Everything about it feels wrong—upside down, even. If you’ve ever found yourself crying out, “God, how can You allow this?”—you are far from alone. The world seems to operate on a backward system where cunning triumphs over kindness, greed overshadows generosity, and dishonesty is rewarded while integrity is overlooked. It’s a reality that tests faith, fuels frustration, and leaves many wondering if righteousness has any real place in a world that celebrates deception.
But here’s something crucial to remember: The apparent success of the wicked is not the whole story, and it never will be.
This Struggle Is as Old as Time
This isn’t a new dilemma. Thousands of years ago, Asaph, a psalmist, wrestled with the same painful reality: "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." (Psalm 73:3). He watched the deceitful flourish while the faithful suffered. It made him question everything: Does doing the right thing even matter?
You’ve likely wondered the same thing. The injustice is hard to stomach. Seeing those who exploit others rise to prominence while the honest and selfless face hardship feels unbearable. The weight of that reality can make even the most faithful question God’s justice.
But here’s the reality: God’s justice is never absent; it simply operates on a different timeline than ours.
Why Does Evil Seem to Win?
Here’s a fundamental truth: The prosperity of the wicked isn’t an endorsement from God—it’s a testament to His patience and mercy, allowing space for repentance before the inevitable reckoning unfolds.
If God instantly struck down every corrupt leader, dishonest mogul, or ruthless tyrant, He’d have to strike us down too. Because if we’re being honest, haven’t we all been selfish? Deceptive? Hurtful? Have we ever acted in ways that, if fully exposed, wouldn’t paint us as righteous either?
God delays judgment—not because He’s indifferent, but because He’s giving time. Time for people to turn around. Time for justice to unfold. Time for us to understand that no one truly gets away with anything. Scripture is clear: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7). Justice isn’t absent. It’s simply moving on God’s timeline, not ours.
But just because justice is delayed doesn’t mean the wicked are living the dream. In fact, their so-called success often carries a hidden cost.
The Hidden Cost of Unrighteous Success
What looks like winning on the outside can be total destruction on the inside.
How often do we see the wealthy spiraling into addiction? The powerful consumed by fear? The famous battling despair? The world praises them, but they’re crumbling behind the scenes. The Bible warns, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36).
Success without peace isn’t a blessing. It’s a slow, silent downfall. Those who build their lives on deception, selfish ambition, or cruelty will eventually watch everything they cherish slip through their fingers. Power gained through oppression turns into paranoia. Wealth obtained dishonestly turns into isolation. Fame built on lies collapses under the weight of truth.
They may have wealth, but they don’t have rest. They may have power, but they live in fear of losing it. And when it all crumbles, what remains? Nothing. Because without God, even the greatest fortune is worthless.
But What About the Righteous Who Suffer?
If the wicked flourish, what about those who do right? The ones who live with integrity but still face hardship?
Here’s where we often get it wrong: Prosperity isn’t always a sign of blessing, and suffering isn’t always punishment.
Jesus—perfect, righteous, and holy—was betrayed, humiliated, and crucified. If success equaled divine favor, Jesus would have been the wealthiest, most powerful man alive. Instead, He suffered, because His purpose was greater than material gain. If you’re struggling, maybe your purpose is greater too.
God’s greatest servants—Moses, David, Job, Paul—endured suffering, but their trials refined them. Their pain prepared them for something far beyond momentary comfort. If you’re walking through hardship, it doesn’t mean God has abandoned you. It could mean He’s preparing you for something you can’t yet see.
What We Often Forget About Justice
Justice isn’t just about punishing the wicked. It’s also about vindicating the righteous. It’s about setting things right, restoring what was lost, and ensuring that goodness is never in vain.
When you do what’s right, even when it’s hard, you’re not losing—you’re storing up a reward that can’t be taken from you. Scripture promises, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry." (Psalm 34:15). God sees. He knows. And He will act.
This world is not our final home. If justice isn’t fully realized here, it will be in eternity. The wicked may enjoy a fleeting moment of power, but the faithful will inherit something far greater—something that lasts forever.
This Story Isn’t Over
The wicked may have their moment, but they won’t have the final say. Psalm 73 doesn’t end in despair. Asaph eventually realizes the truth: "Then I understood their final destiny." (Psalm 73:17). What looks like triumph for the wicked is often just delayed justice.
And the suffering of the righteous? It’s often the setup for something far greater.
In the end, everything comes full circle. The wicked will face the consequences of their actions, even if it doesn’t happen on our timeline. Those who remain faithful will see God’s promises fulfilled, even if it takes longer than expected. This life isn’t the end of the story.
If you’ve ever looked at the world and thought, “This isn’t fair,”—you’re absolutely right. But don’t lose heart. Because in the end, justice isn’t missing. It’s just waiting for the perfect time.
About the Creator
Ojo
🔍 I explore anything that matters—because the best discoveries don’t fit into a box...
Why Smiling Can Feel Like the Hardest Thing
The Unbearable Weight of a Smile: When Your Face Refuses to Lie Anymore "Just smile," they said, as if my face were a light switch I could simply flip. As if the muscles required to curve my lips upward hadn't become so heavy that lifting them felt like deadlifting my own despair. As if smiling—the simplest, most automatic human expression—hadn't become the most exhausting performance of my entire day. I'm standing in line at the coffee shop, and the barista is making small talk. "How's your day going?" she asks, cheerful, genuine, expecting the standard response. My jaw tenses. My face feels like stone. I know what I'm supposed to do—smile, say "great, how about you?", participate in this basic social ritual that I've performed thousands of times without thinking. But I can't. My face won't cooperate. The muscles required to form a smile feel paralyzed, or more accurately, weighted down by something too heavy to lift. I force it anyway. The corners of my mouth move upward mechanically, but it doesn't reach my eyes. It doesn't feel genuine. It feels like I'm wearing a mask that doesn't quite fit. "Fine, thanks," I manage, and the barista's smile falters slightly. She can tell. Something's off. My smile is wrong somehow—too tight, too forced, too obviously fake. I take my coffee and leave quickly, exhausted by the thirty-second interaction. My face hurts from the effort of that brief, failed smile. And I still have an entire day of this ahead of me. When Your Face Becomes a Traitor I used to smile easily, automatically. It was a reflex, an unconscious response to humor, kindness, joy, social situations. I never thought about it, never had to try. Now every smile is manual labor. Every upward curve of my lips requires conscious effort, deliberate muscle activation, sustained energy I don't have. My face has become resistant, like it knows I'm lying and refuses to participate in the deception. In meetings at work, I'd notice other people smiling, laughing, their faces animated and expressive. And I'd try to match them, to mirror their expressions, to look like I was engaged and present. But my face wouldn't cooperate. It would freeze in this neutral, flat expression that read as either bored or angry, even though I wasn't trying to look either way. I just... couldn't make my face do what faces are supposed to do. "You look upset," my boss said after one meeting. "Is everything okay?" "I'm fine," I said, and tried to smile to prove it. But even I could feel how wrong it looked—this grimace that pretended to be a smile, this contortion that fooled no one. "If something's bothering you, you can talk to me," he pressed. Nothing was bothering me. At least, nothing specific. I wasn't angry or upset about work. I was just... unable to smile. Unable to make my face perform the basic signals that tell others I'm okay, I'm engaged, I'm a functioning human being having a normal interaction. The Exhaustion of Performance Every day became a marathon of forced facial expressions. Wake up. Try to smile at my partner over breakfast. Fail. See his concern. Force a smile to reassure him. Feel my face muscles strain with the effort. Get to work. Try to look pleasant and approachable. Feel my face settle into that blank, heavy expression despite my best efforts. Force periodic smiles during conversations. Feel exhausted by 10 AM from the sheer effort of manipulating my own face. Lunch with colleagues. They're laughing about something. I hear the joke, understand it's funny, know I should be laughing too. Try to make my face do the laughing expression. Produce something that's almost a smile but not quite right. See them notice. Feel them pull back slightly, unsure how to read me. By the end of each day, my face would actually ache. Not from overuse, but from the constant tension of trying to force expressions that wouldn't come naturally, of fighting against muscles that wanted to remain flat and unresponsive. I started avoiding situations that required me to smile. Stopped going to social gatherings where I'd have to perform happiness I didn't feel. Turned down invitations to celebrations, parties, events where smiling would be expected and my inability to do so would be conspicuous. My world shrank to environments where I didn't have to pretend—mostly my apartment, alone, where my face could rest in its natural state of heavy neutrality without judgment or concern. Understanding the Impossibility "Why can't I smile?" I asked my therapist, genuinely baffled by this loss of what seemed like the most basic human function. "I'm not trying to look miserable. I just... can't make my face do it anymore." She explained it in a way that finally made sense. "Depression doesn't just affect your mood—it affects your motor functions, including the facial muscles. The neurotransmitters that allow for spontaneous emotional expression are depleted. Your face isn't refusing to smile. Your brain isn't sending the signals that create smiling." She showed me research about something called "facial feedback"—the way our facial expressions both reflect and influence our emotional state. When you smile, your brain registers that feedback and generates corresponding positive emotions. It's a two-way street. But in depression, that street is blocked. Your brain can't generate the positive emotions that produce genuine smiles, and forcing smiles doesn't trick your brain into feeling better—it just exhausts you with the effort of manually operating machinery that's supposed to be automatic. "It's not laziness," she emphasized. "It's not attitude. It's a literal neurological impairment. Your brain has lost the ability to generate spontaneous positive facial expressions." Knowing this didn't make it easier, but it helped me understand why something so simple had become so impossibly hard. The Social Cost The inability to smile carries a staggering social cost that people who've never experienced it can't understand. Humans are wired to read faces. We make split-second judgments about people based on their expressions. A lack of smiling reads as unfriendly, unapproachable, angry, or unstable—even when that's not what you're feeling at all. My relationships deteriorated. Friends stopped reaching out because interactions with me felt flat, heavy, unrewarding. I wasn't fun to be around anymore. Not because I was actively negative, but because I couldn't reflect back the warmth and positive energy that social bonds require. My partner grew increasingly frustrated. "You never seem happy to see me," he said one night. "I come home and you just... look at me. No smile, no warmth, nothing." "I am happy to see you," I insisted. "I just can't make my face show it." "That doesn't make sense," he said, hurt and confused. "If you're happy, why can't you smile?" How could I explain that happiness and smiling had become disconnected? That I could feel some small sense of gladness that he was home, but that feeling couldn't translate into facial expression? That the pathway between emotion and face had been severed? I couldn't explain it in a way that made sense to him. And eventually, he stopped believing I was happy to see him at all. The Judgment and Misunderstanding The worst part was the constant judgment from people who didn't understand. "You should smile more!" Random strangers, usually men, felt entitled to offer this advice, as if my face existed for their viewing pleasure. "Cheer up, it might never happen!" People would joke, assuming my expression meant something bad had occurred, when really it just meant my face was resting in its default depressed state. "Why are you so angry?" I wasn't angry. I was just unable to smile. "You need to work on your attitude." My attitude was fine. My face just couldn't show it. People assumed my lack of smiling meant I was rude, unfriendly, hostile, or miserable. They couldn't see that I was simply exhausted from trying to operate machinery that had stopped working. Even well-meaning people hurt me with their attempts to help. "Just fake it till you make it!" they'd say. "Force yourself to smile and you'll feel better!" But forcing smiles didn't make me feel better. It made me feel like a fraud. It highlighted the gap between what my face was doing and what I was actually feeling. It made the depression more obvious, not less, because the smile never reached my eyes, never looked genuine, never fooled anyone including me. The Breaking Point The crisis came during my niece's birthday party. She was turning five, excited, adorable, having the time of her life. She ran up to me with a drawing she'd made, her face lit up with pure childhood joy. "Look what I made for you, Auntie!" I looked at the drawing—a colorful, enthusiastic rendering of the two of us holding hands. She'd drawn me with a big smile. And I couldn't smile back at her. I tried. God, I tried. This innocent child showing me something she'd made with love, and I couldn't produce even a small smile of acknowledgment. My face remained flat. Heavy. Unresponsive. Her face fell. "Don't you like it?" "I love it, sweetheart," I said, my voice breaking slightly. "It's beautiful." But she'd already seen my expression—or lack of it. She walked away, confused and a little hurt, and I stood there holding her drawing, hating myself for not being able to give this child the one simple thing she wanted: a smile. That night, I called my psychiatrist. "Something's really wrong," I said. "I can't even smile at a five-year-old. What's happening to me?" The Medical Reality My psychiatrist adjusted my medication and explained what was happening. "What you're experiencing is called 'psychomotor retardation'—a slowing down of physical and emotional responses. It's a core symptom of major depression. Your facial muscles aren't responding normally because the neural pathways that control spontaneous expression aren't functioning properly." She also mentioned something called "anhedonia"—the inability to feel pleasure—which often comes with an inability to express pleasure, even when you're trying. "The medication we're adjusting should help," she said. "But it takes time. Six to eight weeks, possibly longer, before you notice a difference." She also recommended something unexpected: facial exercises. "Research shows that deliberately practicing facial movements—even without the corresponding emotion—can help retrain the neural pathways. It won't cure the depression, but it might make the physical expressions easier." So I started doing these bizarre exercises. Standing in front of the mirror, manually moving my face through expressions. Lifting the corners of my mouth with my fingers to simulate a smile. Holding it. Releasing. Repeating. It felt ridiculous. I felt ridiculous. But I was desperate enough to try anything. The Slow Return The medication took seven weeks to start working. Seven weeks of forced smiles, exhausted facial muscles, and social situations I couldn't navigate properly. Then one morning, my partner said something funny at breakfast and I felt it—a real smile, spontaneous and genuine, breaking across my face without effort. It lasted maybe three seconds before fading. But it was real. It was mine. It happened without me having to manually operate my face. I started crying, which alarmed my partner until I explained: "I just smiled. A real smile. I didn't have to force it." He looked at me with such relief and sadness. "I didn't realize how hard it's been for you," he said quietly. After that, smiles came more frequently. Not all the time—I still had days where my face felt weighted and unresponsive. But the genuine smiles started outnumbering the forced ones. The effort required diminished. My face started cooperating again. Living With the Memory A year later, I can smile relatively easily again. Not effortlessly like I used to, and not constantly. But the heavy impossibility has lifted. My face has mostly remembered how to express what I'm feeling without requiring manual operation. But I haven't forgotten what it was like. That period when smiling felt harder than anything else, when my face betrayed me every day, when the simplest human expression became impossible. I'm gentler with people now. When I see someone with a flat expression, with a face that doesn't smile easily, I don't assume they're unfriendly or angry or rude. I wonder if maybe they're fighting this same battle. If maybe their face is as heavy as mine once was. I also don't take smiling for granted anymore. Every genuine smile feels like a gift, like evidence that my brain is working properly again, that the neural pathways are transmitting signals the way they should. The Truth That Needs Telling If you can't smile right now—if your face feels like dead weight, if forcing expressions exhausts you, if people keep telling you to cheer up and you want to scream that you're trying but your face won't cooperate—please know this: You're not broken. Your face isn't defective. This is a symptom of depression as real and valid as any other symptom. Your brain's ability to generate spontaneous positive expressions has been impaired by depleted neurotransmitters and disrupted neural pathways. This isn't attitude. This isn't choice. This is neurology. And it's treatable. With the right medication, therapy, and time, your face can remember how to smile again. The heaviness can lift. The effort can diminish. The genuine smiles can return. Don't let people shame you for something you literally cannot control. Don't let them tell you to "just smile" as if you haven't been trying. Don't let them mistake your depression for rudeness or hostility. Your face will cooperate again. The pathways will reconnect. The expressions will come naturally once more. Until then, be patient with yourself. You're not failing at something easy. You're managing something impossibly hard. And you're doing better than you think. When smiling becomes the hardest thing, it's not because you're ungrateful or negative or refusing to see the bright side—it's because depression has literally disconnected the neural pathways between emotion and facial expression. Your face isn't betraying you out of spite. It's malfunctioning because your brain chemistry is disrupted. The effort it takes you to produce a smile is the same effort it would take someone else to deadlift a car. You're not being difficult. You're being incredibly strong, showing up to social situations and manually operating facial machinery that's supposed to be automatic. The heaviness will lift. Your face will remember. Until then, please stop judging yourself for not being able to do something your broken neurology has made nearly impossible. --------------------------------------------- Thanks for Reading!
By Ameer Moavia7 days ago in Psyche
Comments (1)
Nice work… I enjoyed this article. Keep up the good work .