It is easy to find the person who seems to have lot more than you do. Their house looks bigger, their car is newer, their clothes are in fashion and they can eat in restaurants. While you ride the bus, eat leftovers and wear clothes that are frayed and patched up.
"But as for me, my feet almost slipped; I nearly lost my foothold. for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Psalm 73:2-3.
WEALTH IS NEUTRAL
There is nothing wrong with wealth. It may be God's blessing or even God's testing.
Many good people are wealthy. They worked hard, made wise choices, exercised discipline, saved, and earned the reward of vision and sacrifice. There is nothing wrong with that, and they are worthy of admiration.
Some people may obtain prosperity through dishonest means. We should not admire them.
GOD BLESSES
In either case, we should not envy the wealth of others. If God has given a person this world's treasures we should be thankful that God has shown them such blessings. If we perceive a person rejects God's goodness and spurns righteousness for themselves we know their wealth is all there is for them and they face a poor eternity without grace or blessings.
ENVY
Envy is the child of covetousness. In the Ten Commandments, God said, "You shall not covet." (Deuteronomy 5:21). When we envy we sin and break one of God's commands.
Envy is the opposite of contentment, and it robs us of the possibility contentment, and it causes us to forget the blessings we already have.
MY FEET ALMOST SLIPPED, LOST FOOTHOLD
Imagine climbing a steep mountain, near the top and the soil beneath your feet crumble and you begin to slide down toward a cliff edge. In the pilgrimage of life, we lose a valuable reference standard of moral uprightness when we begin to envy because we start to compromise deeper values for cheaper ones. When we begin to envy we jeopardize the good we have built, we are possibly risking our lives.
RESOLVE
We begin a dangerous course when we envy other people's wealth. We start to focus on the things that are secondary in life and miss the primary blessings of relationships, character, and self.
Resolve to focus on the blessings you have and not on what other people have.
"But as for me, my feet almost slipped; I nearly lost my foothold. for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Psalm 73:2-3.
WEALTH IS NEUTRAL
There is nothing wrong with wealth. It may be God's blessing or even God's testing.
Many good people are wealthy. They worked hard, made wise choices, exercised discipline, saved, and earned the reward of vision and sacrifice. There is nothing wrong with that, and they are worthy of admiration.
Some people may obtain prosperity through dishonest means. We should not admire them.
GOD BLESSES
In either case, we should not envy the wealth of others. If God has given a person this world's treasures we should be thankful that God has shown them such blessings. If we perceive a person rejects God's goodness and spurns righteousness for themselves we know their wealth is all there is for them and they face a poor eternity without grace or blessings.
ENVY
Envy is the child of covetousness. In the Ten Commandments, God said, "You shall not covet." (Deuteronomy 5:21). When we envy we sin and break one of God's commands.
Envy is the opposite of contentment, and it robs us of the possibility contentment, and it causes us to forget the blessings we already have.
MY FEET ALMOST SLIPPED, LOST FOOTHOLD
Imagine climbing a steep mountain, near the top and the soil beneath your feet crumble and you begin to slide down toward a cliff edge. In the pilgrimage of life, we lose a valuable reference standard of moral uprightness when we begin to envy because we start to compromise deeper values for cheaper ones. When we begin to envy we jeopardize the good we have built, we are possibly risking our lives.
RESOLVE
We begin a dangerous course when we envy other people's wealth. We start to focus on the things that are secondary in life and miss the primary blessings of relationships, character, and self.
Resolve to focus on the blessings you have and not on what other people have.
