Divine Paparazzi

(Proverbs 23:17 KJV)  Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

Be honest.  Don’t you have times when you look at the luxury and comfort that others have and you just for a moment wish....?  I just flew across the country and back.  I flew coach.  If I really wanted to I could probably buy a first class ticket but I can never rationalize the amount of money that takes.  But I must confess, when I walk through the first class section I have a bit of envy.  If they spend their money on such luxury they must be sinners, right?

We go to church.  We seek to be servants.  We sacrifice and discipline.  It is still natural that in our “heart” (3820) we “envy” (7065) “sinners” (2400).  We may be able to hide how we feel by the right words, but our inner being wants to share in the delights of our world and that can become sin.

How do we avoid feeling envy?  This is where the fear of the Lord comes in.  The fear of the Lord helps us keep our perspective.  It keeps us honest in many ways.  When we fear the Lord we see more clearly.  It is like having good sun glasses when you are driving into the afternoon sun.  It filters out the nonsense.  Too often we look at life the same way we look at celebrities on TV or in a movie.  We see the made up version.  Professionals have spent hours covering their warts and wrinkles.  Experts have positioned the lights just so.  Photoshop has edited the results to perfection.  It is not real.  When they get caught by a casual photographer the results are dynamic.  You often don’t even recognize them.  The fear of the Lord is like the paparazzi. 

So?  Embrace a healthy fear of the Lord.  Live in awe of His holiness.  Accept that, as Creator, He really does know what is best for us.  As Eternal Father He wants to see the best come to be.  Rejoice.