Fret Not

      By Fern Horst

"Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." (Psalm 37:1-2)

Have you ever looked at someone else's life, noticing that they'd made a bunch of unwise and even sinful choices, and yet they have what you long to have? It doesn't seem fair, does it? Such an observation is a tough one to look past. We've done our best to make good choices - choices we felt God wanted us to make. Yet here we are without our dream, while someone else who seemingly did all the wrong things, is living it. As we focus on the contrast between such a person's life and our own, we begin to fret.

The term "fret" carries with it the connotation of being irritated and agitated, with a dose or two of resentfulness and anger mixed in. It's a gnawing sort of attitude - one that eats away at us and makes us miserable. If we start talking about this unfairness, and keep bringing it up because we just can't get over it, we make those around us miserable too.

But the Bible tells us specifically to not fret in such situations. Why? Because such people may have their "reward" today, but it won't last forever. If they are not following the Lord, they will at some point be "cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." That's not an end result that you and I want, if we truly want all that God has for us, in this life and the next.

So when you see that person who made bad choices, seemingly enjoying life with the family and home that you always dreamed of having, with a great paying job and your favorite car in their driveway, do not fret. Those things are not - by any stretch of the imagination - all there is to our existence as humans. The most important part of our earthly existence is that we have a spirit that will live forever, and our time here on earth is preparation for all that we will experience and be part of in heaven throughout eternity.

Those things we dream of having here on earth may or may not be part of God's plan for our preparation for our eternal existence. If they are, great. If not, we can still rest assured that the wonderful things we were created to experience will never be denied us, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and follow Him faithfully.

"A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever." (Psalm 37:16-18)

© 2007 Fern Horst

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