Don't let Your Heart Envy

Don’t let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of Yahweh always
Surely there is a future, & your hope won’t be cut off.  

Listen ... and be wise, & direct your heart in the way.  

Don’t be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, & drowsiness will clothe one with rags  (Proverbs 23:17-21)

Lesson from this section

We’re surrounded by it in OC: happy people, rich people, nice cars, people with great relationships, perfect marriages, happy kids, and admirable jobs.  But this “success” is actually little more than a flood of temptation thrown in our faces by evil. 

We may console ourselves in the knowledge that money doesn’t buy happiness, or we may see the happy couple and suspect that in private they’re not so happy … but it can be hard to shake the idea that everyone seems to have it better than we do!  “Everyone else gets what they want,” a foolish woman said.

Rather than envying others (or trying to mentally cut them down) … just do what the Father advises: rather than envy, replace it with fear of Yahweh.  Instead of trying to resist temptation … focus on fearing God, worshipping God, and loving God.  If all your focus is on being pleasing to God and hearing the six words … envy will melt in the fire of your zeal as if by magic. 

Don’t believe God about this?  Why? 

When has He ever given you reason not to trust Him?

Go ahead … focus on God, starting with fear.  See what happens to your envy issues. 

I dare you.