Pro 12:12  Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

A crook always wants what the other crook has.  We can like this to thieves or criminals, but it should also make us look within our own hearts, especially when we live in smaller communities where everyone knows everyone — do we see someone doing extremely well and want what they have?  

A lot of foolish people have seen others steal or embezzle, and then when they get their chance, they do the same thing.  That is foolishness, man; in his own stupid and fickle way, will try and justify taking what’s not there’s just because it is just the status quo,  If we think about governments, where one leader was a cheat, the one who came after them though, ‘well now it’s my turn, and the guy who came before me did it, so why shouldn’t I?’  Today’s Proverbs tells us that’s what wicked people do, want or desire what other wicked people have.  

The second half of the verse; ‘the root of the righteous bears fruit’ tells us that righteous people produce their own wealth; God smiles on those who do good and fear Him.  A God fearing person isn’t going to engage in shady behavior to get ahead, and God sees that and rewards them.  

At the end of the day, wicked people never prosper, they may do okay in the hear and now, but God sees everything, and will punish each man according to their deeds.  God’s Word is God’s Word, it is unchanging, stealing and being corrupt is just as detestable to God in 2022, as it was all these centuries before Christ came as a man.  

The Good News of The Gospel is also unchanging, we are born as sinners, and the only escape we have from that sin is through submitting to Jesus, giving up our sin and following Him!