Ever watch those shows about the lifestyles of the rich and famous? Their lives drip with money, cars, big homes, pools, and full-size gyms. I admit there are days when all that looks very appealing. A few days ago, I was vegging out watching a program about a couple shopping for a vacation home on a beautiful tropical island. The storyline follows them through the process of choosing between three houses. There are days when I would love to take a private jet and fly down to a vacation home on a beautiful tropical island.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I am not saying everyone with a large home with multiple cars or a cool vacation home is a “sinner.” Some of the godliest people I know have been generously blessed. I am saying that the opulent and excessive lifestyle focus of many can reveal paltry evidence of honoring God. Today’s proverb says it like this:

Proverbs 23:17-18
Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Here’s the point of today’s proverb: Don’t be jealous; be zealous! Why envy the person who finds ultimate enjoyment in the temporal? Why envy the person whose eternal future will be “cut off”? Don’t be jealous; be zealous for a life that understands both the grace of God and his hatred of sin. Be zealous for the double-edged sword (the fear of God) that invites us to embrace God as Father (even Abba Father) and dread his disdain for sin.

Father, keep my eyes off the stuff that glitters today and rusts tomorrow. Keep my eyes focused on those things that will be enjoyed throughout eternity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.