A Future Hope For You

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 23:17-18)
 
Have these thoughts come to your mind before? - If only I worked harder and spent more hours at work like my other colleagues, I would have gotten a better bonus. If only I knew people who could help me pull some strings like this other guy, I would have gotten that job. If only I had the money to renovate my house like my neighbour’s, I would live more comfortably. If only I had a husband as loving as she does, my life would be so much happier. If only my grades were as good as his, I would be able to enter that prestigious university. If only…
 
That is often our problem, isn’t it? Our eyes are often fixed on the people around us and we compare our lives to theirs. Envy is one of the results of sin that we still struggle with on a daily basis. But why is envy so dangerous that God warns us from his Word that we should stay away from it?
 
I think one of the reasons is that it causes us to doubt God’s goodness in our lives. We think that God owes us a good life especially when we do our best to serve him faithfully. We think that it is God’s job to make our lives comfortable, at least as comfortable as the life of the person next to us.
 
What we often forget when we envy others around us is that we have been so blessed by God! Paul understood this when he wrote in Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Yes, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing! God loves us so much that he gave us his Son to die on the cross for our sins, and as a result of that, we who believe in him can be called his children. And we have a glorious future hope – an eternal life with him.
 
So the next time you are tempted to envy those around you, fix your eyes on God and remember all the blessings that God has poured into your life because of Christ’s work on the cross. Celebrate all those blessings that God has given you in Christ.
 
 

Ponder
Think about all the spiritual blessings that are ours because of Christ’s work on the cross – i.e. the forgiveness of our sins, the privilege of being adopted as his children, the future hope of being in his presence for eternity.
 
Practice
Whenever you are tempted to envy those around you, pause and give thanks to God for all the blessings that he has poured into your life because of Christ.
 
Prayer
Father, thank you for blessing me with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Please teach me to celebrate and count my blessings each day.
 
 

A Quote
Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self-worth.
Each of us has something to give that no one else has.
[Author: Unknown]



Article written by Wong Yoke Lin, Kuala Lumpur