Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but live in the fear of the LORD, always.

Proverbs 23:17

This can be a hard command! 

(NOTE: These proverbs in the Bible are not suggestions. They are commands given with the consequences of not obeying the command or the blessings of obeying the commands.)

As I was saying, a hard command to obey. Sometimes it just seems the bad guys and gals have it all. It seems they are the ones who have reached the pinnacle of the American dream and live a life of ease and comfort and satisfaction. And that is exactly what the ultimate bad guy, Satan, wants us to see and wants us to believe. Even knowing that, we still envy the mansions and cars and posh life!

We know that some of these American dream achievers have lied, they have cheated, they have manipulated and a myriad of other evil acts in order to achieve this dream. Some have even capitalized on crimes for which they have been tried and convicted. Some exploit sinful bad habits of their fellow Americans to gain their wealth and prestige, such as; gambling, drug use and distribution, sex trafficking and more. But we still will envy…just a little bit. 

Of course, not every American dream achiever is a bad guy or gal, but if the bad ones who do get caught are any indication of what it is really like in the upper penthouses, those who do it honestly and with care toward their fellow human beings are few. If we know about these honest and unsullied achievers, we surely should pray for them as they navigate through the maze of evil enticements surrounding them and their families. It seems to me that often these well-meaning ones, lose their children and grandchildren to the evil gains side of the American dream and it must really haunt the patriarchs and matriarchs who head these families.

As we ordinary folk scroll through news feeds and social media timelines, we need to step back from all the hype and take a deep reality check into our own hearts (inner-self) and determine why we envy evil-doers and just why we don’t take seriously the 2^nd half of the command in our key verse, to fear the LORD! Not a shake-in-your-boots fear, but rather a splendid awe of just Who God is and all He is to us…or can be and should be to us. Of course, God’s version of what exactly a successful life looks like and what the American dream says a successful life looks like are in direct opposition to each other! And we must choose one or the other.

Jesus said…

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Luke 16:13