Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Are you ever tempted to feel a bit envious of people who seem to have everything? The Bible says, "He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast" (Prov. 15:15). In modern language, "The one with a happy disposition finds life to be a continual picnic." But try as you can, you don't seem to have that "merry heart."
You feel at home in Psalm 73: "My faith was almost gone because I was jealous of the proud ... They do not suffer pain; they are strong and healthy. ... They do not have the troubles that others have. And so they wear pride like a necklace ... Even God's people turn to them and eagerly believe whatever they say. ... They have plenty and are always getting more. ... O God You have made me suffer all day long; every morning you have punished me" (vss. 2-14, GNB; the KJV says "chastened me").
There's a secret behind this enormous problem of the "haves" and the "have-nots"--the cross of Christ. We know He was penniless when He died because the soldiers who gambled for His clothing found no coins in His pockets to quarrel over. He was the world's preeminent "Have-not." But He died in order to give the "haves" of the world what they enjoy. Yes, they don't realize it but everything they have is the purchase of His sacrifice.
A wise writer says that even their daily gourmet food has been an unknown "sacrament." The uncaring, unthankful wicked have actually eaten "the Lord's supper" "in an unworthy manner ... not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:27-29). All that they think they have earned or inherited from rich parents, has been a gift of God's grace. The penniless One is the Source of their wealth. And He has loved them; let them have what they want for as long as they can enjoy it. Let them revel in the only life they'll have.
Says He: "Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward," present tense (Matt. 6:2). Stop envying them; you have one yet future. Rejoice in it.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 30, 2002.
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