Bible League: Living His Word Do not fret because of evildoers,Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. People can become upset when they see the prosperity and success of others. They see what others have in comparison to what they have and it can upset them if they think that others have it better than them. If the others are also evil in nature, then the upset is all the greater. Why should the evil prosper and succeed? Why do they have it better than me? Instead of focusing on their own lives, they obsess over the lives of others. Our verse for today says that we should not fret ourselves because of the prosperity and success of evildoers and we should not be envious of them. After all, we should not be envious of anyone. Envy is a sin (Romans 1:29). Covetousness is to desire the advantages that belong to someone else; jealousy is to resent a person for the advantages they have; but envy is the desire to be like the person who has the advantages. All three sins, closely related and often found in combination, result from an inordinate comparison between oneself and someone else. Our verse for today implies that it really makes no sense to envy the workers of iniquity, for they are not worthy of envy. They are people who "shall soon be cut down like the grass." Psalm 73:17-19 says that the end of the wicked is destruction and desolation. The wicked may prosper and succeed for a time, but their time is limited. Why be envious of that? Why fret about someone who is doomed to destruction? Further, our verse for today says that the wicked shall "wither as the green herb." Life in this dispensation is transient and fleeting, like the green herbs of the field. Whatever advantages the wicked may have are transient and fleeting as well. The wicked have traded in eternal life and peace for temporary and limited advantage. If they don't wither and fade in this life, they will in the next. The news media frequently report stories of how the wicked have fallen. These stories are object lessons that confirm the truth of Psalm 37. Stop comparing yourself unfavorably with other people, therefore, and especially with the wicked. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 33, 34 Job 33 -- Elihu Declares God Calls Man to Repentance by Visions and Afflictions NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 34 -- Elihu Accuses Job for Charging God with Injustice NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 13:24-52 Acts 13 -- Church Sends Barnabas and Saul on First Missionary Journey; Cyprus; Pisidian Antioch NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?”Insight Jesus doesn't mean we should ignore wrongdoing, but we should not be so worried about others' sins that we overlook our own. We often rationalize our sins by pointing out the same mistakes in others. Challenge What kinds of specks in others' eyes are the easiest for you to criticize? Remember your own “logs” when you feel like criticizing, and you may find that you have less to say. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Job 13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins?Have you ever really weighed and considered how great the sin of God's people is? Think how heinous is your own transgression, and you will find that not only does a sin here and there tower up like an alp, but that your iniquities are heaped upon each other, as in the old fable of the giants who piled Pelion upon Ossa, mountain upon mountain. What an aggregate of sin there is in the life of one of the most sanctified of God's children! Attempt to multiply this, the sin of one only, by the multitude of the redeemed, "a number which no man can number," and you will have some conception of the great mass of the guilt of the people for whom Jesus shed his blood. But we arrive at a more adequate idea of the magnitude of sin by the greatness of the remedy provided. It is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's only and well-beloved Son. God's Son! Angels cast their crowns before him! All the choral symphonies of heaven surround his glorious throne. "God over all, blessed forever. Amen." And yet he takes upon himself the form of a servant, and is scourged and pierced, bruised and torn, and at last slain; since nothing but the blood of the incarnate Son of God could make atonement for our offences. No human mind can adequately estimate the infinite value of the divine sacrifice, for great as is the sin of God's people, the atonement which takes it away is immeasurably greater. Therefore, the believer, even when sin rolls like a black flood, and the remembrance of the past is bitter, can yet stand before the blazing throne of the great and holy God, and cry, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died; yea rather, that hath risen again." While the recollection of his sin fills him with shame and sorrow, he at the same time makes it a foil to show the brightness of mercy--guilt is the dark night in which the fair star of divine love shines with serene splendour. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 26:3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Ephesians 5:1,2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; • and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 1 Peter 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; Luke 6:35,36 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. • "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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