KEEPING THINGS IN THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”

This is what the wicked are like — always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; when You arise, Lord, You will despise them as fantasies.

Psalm 73:1-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many times have believers lamented over feeling like those who live without the Lord seem to have a better life? I know I’ve heard more than a few talk about it.

Being a believer places one under a strict set of rules and restrictions. Gone are the days of living to meet the world’s desires and thus satisfying the flesh. In its place are days seeking to fulfill the Lord’s desires by following the lead of the Holy Spirit.

So what happens when a believer seems to struggle in life while others who are openly and unapologetically sinning seem to flourish? Too often, the believer starts to feel like the psalmist who wrote the 73 rd Psalm. Look at their words again:

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”

This is what the wicked are like — always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; when You arise, Lord, You will despise them as fantasies.

The psalmist, by their own admission, had actually begun to envy the wicked as he saw their prosperity. I can almost hear them thinking, “O, if I would only change and behave sinfully, maybe I too would find my own riches.” He saw the wicked as having the good life – no struggles, healthy and strong bodies, free from burdens, and not plagued by ills. They were free to behave in any way before God with seemingly no consequence. They could do whatever they wanted to do and always be free of care as they went on amassing wealth. Meanwhile, the psalmist saw himself as afflicted and punished. How could that happen to a man of God while those who snubbed the Lord got off scot free?

You better believe that people who believe in God today feel the same way. Like so many things, things seem to remain the same, even across 2,000 years.

But the psalmist didn’t keep their attitude the way it was. There was a definite attitude shift.

For in the midst of trying to make sense of it all which led to some foolish thoughts as the psalmist looked back in hindsight, we learn that he gained understanding and instruction while in the sanctuary of God. For it was there, that the Lord opened the eyes of the psalmist to the true fate of those who choose to live apart from Him. Although their present lives seem prosperous, their future is ruin and sudden destruction.

Yes, the psalmist gained a whole new perspective when he was in the present in the worship place of God. You and I will ever gain the same thing as we worship each and every week. This is just one of the many reasons church is so critical – because the Lord Almighty speaks powerfully to us and grants us His perspective on life when we commune with Him in holy worship.

Part of that perspective is that unrepentant, Christ-less sinners will face damnation and destruction from God at life’s end while those who place their faith and trust in Jesus as Savior will receive the blessed of inheritance of eternal life promised by God who so loved us all that He gave us that option through His Son and in doing so, changed the perspective of believers forever.

So what is your perspective on life? Are you carrying an attitude around like the psalmist before he gained understanding in the sanctuary of God? Or have you entered into the house of the Lord regularly enough to understand that it’s not the riches of the world that matter but rather the infinitesimal riches that await us as we enter into life eternal through Jesus Christ?

One thing is for certain. Stay connected to the Lord and you will always be keeping things in the right (or righteous) perspective.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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