My Wandering Eyes

“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.”  Psalms 73:1-3 (NIV)

There are times in life when it seems that people who do not follow God have the advantage over those doing their best to follow His commands.  I can remember only a few years ago when I very much wanted to live in a house instead of my tiny little apartment.  My place was frigid in the winter and blazing in the summer.  It was so small I couldn’t have a party unless half the people sat on my bed and the other half on my couch.  The real estate market was on fire and I couldn’t see how I would never be able to afford a home.

From time to time I would pray to God and blame Him for my situation.  There I was paying tithe off the top of my income, covering my expenses, and then saving every last dollar for a down payment.  Homes kept increasing in value and every month I got further and further behind in my goal to purchase a home.  I could look around at my coworkers and see that they had all bought a nice home, and none of them even knew what a tithe meant.  Why did I have to be faithful and miss out when so many others seemed to be ignoring God but getting along in life so much better than me?

 That mindset is a very dangerous place to be.  When things are going well, I look up to heaven and praise God for what He is doing.  When things are bad, I look up and ask God to please help me make it through the pain.  Surely trouble is right around the corner when I let my eyes wander and settle on the guy next door.  I start feeling sorry for myself and questioning whether following God is really making my life any better at all.  I forget all the blessings He has given me in the past, and all the painful situations we have survived together.  Instead, I start wishing I could be, well, less godly.

What I learn reading this scripture to the end of the chapter, is that God takes a much longer view than I do.  He says to me, don’t worry, in the end the godless will see their luxury collapse around them and they will have no where to turn.  In the meantime I have more to learn about praising God in the good times and coming to Him broken and in pain during the bad times.  So there it is, the lesson that keeps coming around again and again.  I still have more to learn about keeping my eyes on Jesus.

[PhotoCredit:Seven_Null7 & Amber Rhea]