April 9, 2024

Scripture: Proverbs 23:17 – “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.”

What it means

Kind of a slippery slope with this passage of scripture from King Solomon.  It’s easy to slip into a “grass is always greener on the other side” mentality when it appears that everybody who’s leading a sinful but seemingly joyful life is escaping scott free from God’s judgement, but we should take a closer look.  First of all, God will, in fact, deal with those who are choosing to live a sinful life in His good time, so while it may appear they’re getting away with it, they’re really not.  Secondly, our focus shouldn’t be on our own gratification, but on the fear of The Lord.  Not that we should have a shaking in our shoes fear of The Lord, but there should at the very least be a healthy awe and reverence of God with every aspect of how we make decisions and live our lives.

What it means to me

Please understand, I don’t write this as somebody who has this all down pat…I struggle as much as the next person with questioning God’s timing in dealing with those who are living lives that run contrary with His perfect will, and at times find myself slightly envious.  But we all need to get a good handle on not just fearing the Lord, but actually being zealous for doing just that.  It’s tough – let’s not kid ourselves in thinking that it isn’t…but that’s what we’re charged with doing in scripture, so we should take it seriously.  As we are able to grow in our faith and find ourselves with a healthy love, awe and respect for The Lord, our lives will end up being much richer, much deeper, and much more focused on the things that really matter in life – not so focused on our happiness but on bringing happiness to The Creator of the universe…and that is a good thing!

Love you guys, talk to you on Thursday!

In Christ,

Brian