April 23

Apr 23 - Today from Proverbs 23 we look at verses 17 & 18
"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."

Envy - discontent and resentment aroused by the desire for possessions or qualities of another. The state of the object of envy is always in the present.
Hope - A desire accompanied by confident expectation. The state of the object of hope is always in the future.
It would be nice to believe that as Christians, the world would envy us. But Jesus said in John 15:18&19, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. As it is, you do not belong to the world but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." Wait! Doesn't envy arouse hatred? Yes it does. But I don't think the world desired Jesus' possessions or qualities. They hated Him because . . . why did they hate Him?
Well, the leaders may have been jealous of His influence. But that's not why the world hated Him. The world Jesus lived in was Jewish. The people who ended up hating Him were His own people. The people that He taught, fed and healed. They were enamored for a time, but they ended up shouting, "Crucify Him!" They hated Him because their hope was misplaced. Their confident expectation was for a Messianic rule now! They were hoping for a hero who would release them from the oppressive rule of Rome. For a leader who would restore Israel once again its former glory. They hated Him because in spite of His miracles, He did not meet their confident expectations.
Envy did play into the hatred of Jesus. The people envied Rome. They wanted to be free. They wanted to be respected and feared by the world. They wanted to live privileged lives. They wanted to keep their own wages and be subsidized by the taxes of other nations. They were God's people, why should they have to be servants of any Gentile nation!?! "Ah-h-h-h-h. Here is the promised Messiah! His miracles and teaching with authority support His claims. Even the demons are subject to Him. He will rise up and set us free from Gentile rule and make us the head! Rome will cower at our feet."
It wasn't until the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the eyes of even His closest followers were finally opened. "My kingdom is not of this world," He said to Pilate. Our hope is not to be in this world. Those who prosper and wield power are like the grass of the field. When you see them today, they may arouse emotion. But tomorrow they will fade and wither and the wind will blow them away. Don't you know that the Father loves you more than these? What may appear to be glory in today's world will quickly fade. Our hope is in the eternal God and His glory. When all of the flowers have bloomed and faded and passed away, we will still be in the land. He is our portion and our delight. We are joint heirs with Christ in the eternal blessings and grace of God. Are we going to spend our emotions on discontentment and resentment over the temporary blooms of today? Or are we going to set our hearts on the One who promised life abundant - on and on and on, through all eternity. There is no power in heaven or on earth or beneath the earth that can stop it. It has been ordained by the eternal and sovereign God who is the Creator of all things. Regardless of what things may appear to be in the present, our hope will never be cut off.
Envy is very dangerous. It diverts our focus and our zeal. We must train ourselves to apply our zeal to our hope, thus starving out the power of our envy.