Everywhere I Go: Learning to See JesusSample

THE POISON OF ENVY The wicked still prosper. Have you noticed? Embezzlers get rich, if they don't get caught. Liars win the race. Scoundrels get the girl. Mean-spirited gossips get voted "most friendly." Go figure. But we do go figure - and that's where the trouble really begins. Because when we start to speculate about why the wicked prosper, we can't help but envy their success, even when it's ill-gained. The psalmist saw the same thing. He told God, "My wicked neighbor has the world by the tail! He's prosperous, fat, happy and proud. And that's just the outside. I don't even want to begin to speculate about what's in his filthy heart. And here I am, playing by the rules and struggling just to make it through the day. What gives, God? Are you paying attention?" If we let this kind of thinking run free, we'll certainly be the most miserable among men. The answer to envy is worship. In worship, we see God as He is, and we understand how little we understand! In worship, our focus is removed from our neighbor and ourselves, and riveted on God alone. When that happens, we gain perspective, understanding that the end of wickedness is ruin and loss, and the end of the pursuit of God is joy forever.