Not cut off

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NOT CUT OFF

Prov 23:17-18

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. 18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

NIV

What is it about the sinner we would envy? Would it be because they live with no moral restrictions? Whether we want to admit it or not we live with a certain list of do’s and don’ts. It may not be the Lord’s list, but it certainly is ours. Do we in any way wish we did not have that list? Does our list become such a burden that we somethings think what it would be like to be as free as the sinner is in regards to doing whatever we please? Maybe we should not have a list in the first place. Of course the Lord has established certain behaviors we are to remove from our lives. He also has established at least one command we need to obey. That is to love him with everything we are and love our neighbor as our self. All the other commands are wrapped up in these two. But the idea here is that something the sinner does or has is tempting to want. Maybe along with the moral issue, which we know is not good and try with all we are to keep from any immorality, there is the material issue. Maybe we want to live in the material world just as the sinner does, making money the important issue in life. Of course we consider it good stewardship trying to make money into a spiritual matter. There is nothing about the life of a sinner we should envy. We know their fate is destruction. Why would we envy someone who is going to be cast into the lake of burning sulfur? We have enough temptations to deal with being imperfect ourselves. Yet we have committed our life to the Lord because we know we have the hope of eternal life. We have the hope we will never be cut off. The sinner, the one who refuses to acknowledge God, acknowledge Jesus, will be cut off. To be zealous for the Lord, to put the Lord first before anything else in this world. Our hope is eternal life. Our hope is always being in the presence of God. We reject the way of sinners. We have decided not to walk in the way of sinners, for their way will be cut off. It is not that we are without sin, but we are not walking in sin. We will not be cut off.