Don't envy those
who do wrong.
Psalm 37:1
On the day I wrote this, Hollywood stars were in the news. Young multi-millionaires in trouble with the law ... again. "Don't envy those who do wrong."
The next verse says, "For like grass, they soon fade away."
Yes … most young Hollywood stars do fade quickly. Childhood stars often become a mess before they are twenty. Most beautiful young actresses are forgotten by the time wrinkles crinkle the corners of their eyes. The lives of NBA superstars routinely peak when they're 24.
But the truth is bigger ... we're all grass.
If you're following along with this fall's congregational study, you'll learn that we are all cut branches ... like cut flowers. Cut flowers may open up beautifully and smell wonderful for a while (childhood starlet) ... but what's a cut flower's inevitable trajectory? "Don't envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away."
Fortunately, there's an alternative. We can be like "trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. [Our] leaves never [have to] wither, and in all [we] do [and with God's provision, we can] prosper" (Psalm 1).
Therefore, today's Psalm invites us flowers to be rooted by the river of life and quit envying the cut flowers who seem to blossom ahead of you. (It’s only temporary.)
Instead, this Psalm invites us to "3 trust in the LORD and do good ... 4 and he will give you your heart's desires. 5 Commit everything you do to the Lord ... and ... 6 he will make your innocence as clear as the dawn. 18 [Because] day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive a reward that lasts forever."
In Christ's Love,
a guy who realizes that
envy is a four-letter-word
No comments:
Post a Comment