The Green-Eyed Monster

     This morning I ready Psalm 49.  It reads like a conversation between two people--one wise and one eager to learn.  They are discussing the injustice of riches in this life, how some struggle and others seem to have it all.  The rich may be rich and seem like they have everything their hearts desire but in the end, they can't buy their way out of the grave.  They too will pass away, leaving all their riches behind because you can't take it with you when you go.   But we, as followers of Christ, have this promise from Psalm 49:15: But as for me, God will redeem my life.  He will snatch me from the power of grave. Better to  be rich in Christ and live forever in heaven than to have all the things your hearts desire and spend eternity somewhere else.
     Now don't ge me wrong, riches can be a blessing but like it says in Matthew 19:23-24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  But this isn't the end.  Matthew 19:25-26 explains it further.  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, " Then who can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
     So when the green-eyed monster of jealousy rears its ugly head, remember that God provides each of what we need as Matthew 6:26 says: Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?

Don't let your longings to be rich in this life hinder your search for the only true richness in this world, a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord God.