Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever... The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off... I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever... (Psalm 37:1-18, 21, 25-27 NIV) Do the apparent excesses and successes of the rich and wealthy non-Christians in the world cause you any grief? Does it bother you that your unbelieving neighbor has a larger house, better cars, and larger bank account than you? Really, be honest. Does it? I think it must bother some of us all sometimes. I think it may even bother some of us all the time. And it is apparent that King David even had it on his mind at least once. We read that Jesus taught His disciples that those who were wealthy by earthly standards were not necessarily truly wealthy. He said in Luke 6:24-25, woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep (NIV). He was telling His disciples that they were blessed with the hope of a future reward—regardless of their earthly circumstances—and that they should live like they understood that. He told them to be generous, helpful, considerate, and loving...even to those who would persecute them. Isnt this what David was saying too? Believers should be loving and generous, kind and compassionate. And they should be that way unashamedly! We should never envy anyone for their earthly wealth and successes. That may be the only reward they receive in their lives and it will never compare to the reward awaiting the faithful who overcome in this world! So then, let us not look for the things that are wrong in our society and with our neighbors. Instead, we should look toward what is right and good in our Creator. Look for the good by practicing what is good! Think on the things that the apostle Paul taught the Philippian church to think on. Think on the good, right, noble, true, pure, virtuous, praiseworthy and lovely things that are ours in the Lord. That way those other things will never weigh our spirits down. If the unrighteousness that we see rewarded in this life burdens us then we must fix our eyes higher! Look at the Father in heaven and let Him guide us through life! And for a practical side to this, one of my favorite movies offers a good lesson on life. It came out several years ago and is called The Ultimate Gift. I usually would not endorse things like movies, but this one is worth the endorsement and I’m sure you will be blessed by watching it. In truth, I would dare say that if you would be so bold as to take up the unspoken challenge of the movie, your life will be much richer! May God bless your day as you have a wonderful day in His grace! Ron
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:00:34 +0000
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