Psalm 37:1-2
Don’t be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don’t envy them.
They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
There are probably few among us who haven’t said at some point of another person… “Man, he/she gets buy with murder! If I did that, I’d be in jail!” For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would envy a person who lies, cheats, steals, uses bad language, speaks unkindly of others, or treats anyone poorly. But this is essentially what we are doing when we make such a statement.
I will tell you, I’ve struggled with writing this devo today. Perhaps this is partly because this “lesson” hits me squarely between the eyes. I get exasperated with people who say and do things that are clearly wrong. Sometimes, I gripe about them…and sometimes, I turn and look the other way. I will say, “He’s a good guy – he just can’t seem to control his mouth.” Or I will say, “I don’t like this and that about a candidate…but he/she is the lesser of the evils, so I’ll vote for him/her anyway.”
The Bible tells us that we are not to judge…and as the second verse in this passage points out, those who “misbehave” don’t actually “win” in the end. The day will come when we will all have to answer for what we have said and done. Meanwhile, the misdeeds of others are really “not our circus – not our monkeys.” And worrying about them doesn’t do any of us one bit of good.
Instead, let’s focus on ourselves. There are times when we must speak out and say, “That is wrong”…or “I cannot condone this.” But when we dwell on the poor choices of others and worry about them instead of focusing on our own words and actions, we have failed to trust God to handle all things. It really is a matter of “walking the walk” vs. “talking the talk!”
Look…on any given day, we have our hands full with our own thoughts and deeds. Worrying about the other guy truly is a waste of our time and energy – and a demonstration of dishonor and mistrust toward God. And none of us wants that…do we?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Don’t be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don’t envy them.
They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
There are probably few among us who haven’t said at some point of another person… “Man, he/she gets buy with murder! If I did that, I’d be in jail!” For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would envy a person who lies, cheats, steals, uses bad language, speaks unkindly of others, or treats anyone poorly. But this is essentially what we are doing when we make such a statement.
I will tell you, I’ve struggled with writing this devo today. Perhaps this is partly because this “lesson” hits me squarely between the eyes. I get exasperated with people who say and do things that are clearly wrong. Sometimes, I gripe about them…and sometimes, I turn and look the other way. I will say, “He’s a good guy – he just can’t seem to control his mouth.” Or I will say, “I don’t like this and that about a candidate…but he/she is the lesser of the evils, so I’ll vote for him/her anyway.”
The Bible tells us that we are not to judge…and as the second verse in this passage points out, those who “misbehave” don’t actually “win” in the end. The day will come when we will all have to answer for what we have said and done. Meanwhile, the misdeeds of others are really “not our circus – not our monkeys.” And worrying about them doesn’t do any of us one bit of good.
Instead, let’s focus on ourselves. There are times when we must speak out and say, “That is wrong”…or “I cannot condone this.” But when we dwell on the poor choices of others and worry about them instead of focusing on our own words and actions, we have failed to trust God to handle all things. It really is a matter of “walking the walk” vs. “talking the talk!”
Look…on any given day, we have our hands full with our own thoughts and deeds. Worrying about the other guy truly is a waste of our time and energy – and a demonstration of dishonor and mistrust toward God. And none of us wants that…do we?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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