In today’s fast-paced world, an intriguing truth is taking shape: success can sometimes overshadow moral integrity. We often find ourselves captivated by charismatic figures who, despite their questionable tactics, seem to thrive in the spotlight. Our culture rewards sensationalism, celebrating those who provoke strong reactions, whether outrage or fear. This dynamic creates an environment that prioritizes “winning” above all, even when it means navigating a flawed path. Join us as we explore a fascinating study that highlights the implications of prioritizing worldly achievements over ethical principles.
A starting point is that our entertainment industries don’t just portray evil; they also enhance it. Modern storytelling often places viewers in the mind of an immoral protagonist, encouraging empathy, laughter, and identification while the harm done to victims remains off-screen or fades into the background. Communication researchers note that certain narrative techniques can promote moral disengagement. The mental process of excusing or minimizing wrongdoing, so that we can continue to enjoy the character and the show. When audiences are repeatedly trained to root for characters who break the rules, it becomes easy for the heart to confuse charisma with virtue and competence with goodness.
News media, too, are shaped by incentives. A large body of research shows that negative language in headlines increases engagement, meaning the marketplace rewards stories framed to shock, alarm, or anger us. The old newsroom saying “if it bleeds, it leads” didn’t disappear; it went digital. The result is not that all reporting is dishonest, but that the system naturally elevates the most sensational versions of reality. Over time, constant exposure to this diet of conflict can dull empathy, normalize cruelty, and make cynicism feel like wisdom.
A Few Studies and current examples to prove a point!
Negativity in news increases clicks: Robertson, Pröllochs, Schwarzenegger, Pärnamets, Van Bavel, & Feuerriegel (2023, Nature Human Behaviour) tested headlines in large, randomized experiments on Upworthy and found a simple pattern: headlines with more negative words got more clicks, while more positive wording got fewer clicks.
Desensitization to violent media: Krahé, Möller, Huesmann, Kirwil, Felber, & Berger (2011, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) found that people who regularly consumed violent media tended to show a weaker body “stress response” to violence and were more likely to think in aggressive ways, results consistent with becoming less sensitive to violence over time.
Entertainment can shape moral instincts over time: Eden, Tamborini, Grizzard, Lewis, Weber, & Prabhu (2014, Journal of Communication) reported that repeated exposure to entertainment with strong moral themes can slowly shift what people feel is right or wrong (their “moral intuitions“) and which moral concerns stand out most to them.
Narratives can make us excuse wrongdoing in characters we like: Frazer, Moyer-Gusé, & Grizzard (2022, Media Psychology) found that when a story stays close to the wrongdoer’s point of view and gives little time to the victim’s suffering, viewers are more likely to sympathize with the immoral character, making it easier to downplay the harm and soften moral judgment.
Reality/celebrity attention as a reward for bad behavior (cultural pattern): A common, observable trend in reality TV and influencer culture is that scandal and cruelty often attract more screen time, higher engagement, and monetization, illustrating how attention can function as a reward even when the behavior is wrong.
Antihero-centered storytelling as a mainstream norm (entertainment pattern): Many popular series and films of the last decade feature morally corrupt leads framed as compelling protagonists, inviting audiences to “root for” characters whose rise depends on exploitation, deception, or violence.
Why should you care?
This matters to our world today because what we repeatedly celebrate, we eventually excuse, and what we repeatedly excuse, we eventually imitate. Scripture warns us about this temptation in plain language: do not envy the wicked; do not fret over evildoers; do not mistake their temporary prosperity for God’s approval (Psalm 37; Proverbs 24)1NIV New International Version Translations. Psalm 73 captures the modern crisis perfectly: a faithful person watches arrogant people thrive and feels his footing slip, until he regains perspective in God’s presence and remembers “the end of the story.” Today, God calls everyone to resist a culture that glamorizes evil, to unlearn admiration for unrighteous success, and to measure “winning” the way heaven does: by faithfulness, truth, and love.
(Isaiah 59:14–15) – “…Truth is nowhere to be found… the Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.”
(Isaiah 5:20) – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Impact on our Society
Envy of the wicked manifests in various modern forms, such as admiring the “wins” achieved through dishonesty, exploitation, cruelty, corruption, sexual immorality, or prideful self-promotion. This often leads to resentment toward faithful individuals who may appear to be falling behind while the unethical seem to get ahead. As a result, some may feel compelled to emulate the wicked methods, thinking, “If it works for them, I should do it too.” However, passages like Psalm 37:1–2 remind us not to fret over those who perpetrate evil, as their success is fleeting: “for like the grass they will soon wither.” Similarly, Proverbs 24:1–2 advises against envying the wicked, emphasizing that their hearts are filled with malice. Moreover, Proverbs 23:17–18 counsels us not to allow our hearts to envy sinners, for there is surely a future hope that awaits those who remain steadfast.
Entertainment doesn’t just show evil; it can also make it look attractive. Many stories today ask us to follow a character who does wrong, see things through their eyes, and even cheer for them, while the people they hurt are barely shown, or we move past their pain quickly. Researchers say this kind of storytelling leads to “moral disengagement,” a fancy way of saying we start making excuses for bad behavior so we can keep enjoying the show. After a while, it becomes easier to confuse a person’s charm with real goodness, and to think someone is “right” just because they are smart, strong, or successful.
Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21), envy that turns murderous
A clear example is King Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21). Ahab wanted what belonged to Naboth, but Naboth refused to sell what God had given his family. Instead of accepting “no,” Ahab sulked, then Jezebel stepped in and used power, false witnesses, and public religion to make the theft look legal. Naboth was killed, and Ahab walked away with the vineyard as if he had simply “won.” For a moment, injustice looked like success.
But God did not see it that way. The Lord sent Elijah to confront Ahab, exposing the hidden cost of the “win” and announcing judgment (see 1 Kings 21:17–24). That story mirrors our world: when a culture rewards the ruthless, people can start to admire the outcome and overlook the method. Scripture repeatedly warns us not to let apparent prosperity confuse our moral compass, because God weighs actions truthfully, and he always brings the full story into the light (compare Psalm 73:16–19; Psalm 37:1–2; Isaiah 5:20).
Saul envies David (1 Samuel 18–19; 24; 26), envy that corrodes leadership
After David’s victories, Saul began to measure his own worth by the praise others gave to David. When the crowd sang that Saul had slain thousands but David tens of thousands, Saul’s heart shifted from gratitude to jealousy, and he began to see David as a threat instead of a gift from God (1 Samuel 18–19). What started as envy grew into fear and obsession. Saul used his position to chase David, protect his image, and hold on to control, even when it meant injustice and violence.
The contrast is just as important. Twice, David had an “opportunity” to end the conflict by killing Saul, and it would have looked like a clean solution to many people. But David refused to take a shortcut to sin. He would not repay evil with evil, and he would not seize a throne by bloodshed; he trusted God to judge rightly and to keep his promises in the right time (1 Samuel 24; 26). The story warns us that envy can destroy a leader, and it also shows what faithful integrity looks like when doing wrong would be easier and faster.
Psalm 73 (Asaph’s crisis and cure), seeing the “end of the story“
Psalm 73 reads like a personal journal from a faithful believer who is shaken by what he sees. Asaph admits that he nearly slipped because the arrogant seemed to prosper, even while they lived without reverence for God. For a time, their ease and success made righteousness feel pointless, and envy began to win the argument in his heart (Psalm 73; see especially 73:2–3).
Everything changes when he enters God’s presence and is seen with an eternal perspective. In the sanctuary, Asaph understands “their final destiny“: that the wicked are not truly secure and that their apparent stability can vanish in a moment (Psalm 73:16–19). The cure for envy is not pretending evil is weak; it is remembering that God will finish the story with justice. When eternity is back in view, envy loses its grip, and Asaph can say, “God is the strength of my heart” (Psalm 73:26).
Conclusion
This study leaves us with a choice. When envy rises, especially when evil seems to be rewarded, we can either let that desire reshape us or bring it into the light and let God reshape us. Scripture does not treat envy as a harmless feeling; it calls us to name it honestly, because unchecked envy leads to “disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:14–16). The first step toward freedom is confession: admitting, “My heart is comparing, craving, and drifting,” instead of excusing it.
Then we reframe time. Much temptation is really impatience, wanting results now, at any cost. God’s wisdom tells us, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). Instead of fixating on what the wicked seem to gain today, we remember what truly endures. We also re-center our desires: beneath envy is often a deeper hunger for security, recognition, or control. Psalm 73 turns our attention back to the only safe foundation: “Whom have I in heaven but you? … God is the strength of my heart” (Psalm 73:25–26).
From there, the choice is obedience without comparison. The goal is not to “beat” someone else’s life but to be faithful with the life God has given us (see Galatians 6:4–5). And we replace envy with active good. Psalm 37 not only tells us what to avoid; it also gives us better direction: “Trust in the Lord and do good” (Psalm 37:3). Doing good, quietly, steadily, and without bitterness, re-trains the heart to desire what God desires.
Finally, this matters not only for personal holiness but for the health of our society. Envy is a gateway sin: if we admire the results of evil, we begin to excuse its methods, and what we excuse we eventually imitate. Over time, whole cultures learn to measure life by outcomes rather than faithfulness, rewarding the ruthless and sidelining the meek. Romans 1 describes this kind of moral spiral, in which hearts become darkened, and societies learn to approve what is destructive (Romans 1:28–32). Jesus also reminds us that envy is not merely “out there” in the world; it comes from the human heart and defiles from within (Mark 7:20–23). So the call of this study is simple and urgent: refuse to call evil “success,” refuse to envy what God will judge, and ask the Lord to form in us a steadier kind of “winning,” truth, love, and faithfulness.
Contemplations
- When you see someone “win” through compromise, whether in entertainment, social media, or real life, what happens inside you first: do you quietly admire the outcome, or do you measure it by God’s standards, even if that makes you feel like you’re falling behind?
- Ideas to Explore: Where are you most tempted to confuse charisma, influence, or success with goodness, and what does that reveal about what you’re craving (security, recognition, control)? If you watched with eternity in view, would you still call this “winning”?
- What should a person do when a workplace or volunteer group expects them to support something they know is wrong, especially when cooperation brings a reward and refusal brings consequences?
- Idea to Explore: Ask yourself whether being viewed as “uncooperative” by an unethical system is actually evidence that your integrity is intact.
- 1NIV New International Version Translations ↩︎