The Grass is Always Greener

Psalm 73

(1) Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. (2) But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. (3) For I was envious of the boastful, when I asw the prosperity of the wicked. (4) For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. (5) They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. (6) Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. (7) Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish. (8) They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. (9) They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. (10) Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. (11) And they say, " How does God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? " (12) Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. (13) Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. (14) For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. (15) If I had said, " I will speak thus," behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. (16) When I thought how to undrestand this, it was too painful for me - (17) Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. (18) Surely you set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. (19) Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. (20) As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when you awake, You shall despise their image. (21) Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. (22) I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. (23) Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. (24) You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (25) Whom have I in Heaven but You? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. (26) My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (27) For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. (28) But it is good for me to draw near to God; I haave put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works.

We've all heard the old saying, " The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence ". I've heard that saying all my life. My father used to say that to me every time I would say that someone elses things were better than what I had or someone else had a better lifestyle than I had. I suppose we've all been guilty of those thoughts at one time or another. The same is true of Asaph, the writer of the Psalm we just read. He gives us an account of the struggle that was going on in his life as he watched the events that went on around him.

What Asaph was going through is what many of us are going through, he became jealous of the wicked (or the lost or non-Christian) because he believed they were doing better than he was. Look at verses 2-13. He said he almost backslid or lost his faith in God because of his jealousy of the lost. Why? Because they were prosperous, they seemed strong, they didn't have the troubles of other men, their eyes bulged with abundance (they were fat because they had so much food to eat), they had more than heart could wish and even though they scoffed at God, they still seemed to prosper.

You might ask why he would be so jealous. Because, it seemed that God was blessing them, even though they didn't believe in Him, and here was Asaph who was a believer, and it seemed God had forgotten him. He didn't have the new chariots, the new homes, the big ships, the rich foods, he wasn't able to stay home and let someone else work for him. He had to work hard for the little bit of money he brought home and he still only barely got by, he had to settle for walking or a chariot that was barely holding together, he had to settle for a home that was constantly in need of repair, it seemed he was constantly going and going and going: never getting time to relax and enjoy life.

It's easy to fall into the trap of jealousy when things aren't going well. When our whole world seems to be falling apart around us and there's nothing we can do to stop it.

What makes it worse is the world we live in makes us feel bad or incomplete if we don't have the best, or the newest, or the latest, or if we're not the strongest, the prettiest, or the most popular, or if we don't dress a certain way, have our hair cut in a particular design. Wow! It's no wonder we're so miserable, we're constantly trying to compete or keep up with what the world calls success or prosperity.

It's easy to look at our situation and think that we don't have enough or blame God because we think He isn't blessing us the way other people are blessed. That's what happened to Asaph. He became jealous because he thought he should have a better lifestyle than those who didn't know or care about God. What happens when we start feeling this way? Do we hurt those we're jealous of ? No. Does it change our lifestyle for the better? No. Then what does jealousy do? It makes us miserable, unhappy, sometimes even mentally unstable. Let's look at James 3:14-16 - But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. Jealousy is one of Satan's most powerful weapons. It can destroy anyone that allows it to remain inside them. So what do we do when jealousy creeps into our lives? We do what Asaph did. Look at verses 14-20 of our psalm.

Asaph struggles with jealousy until he finally takes the problem to God. Look at what he said in verses 16 & 17: When I thought how to undrestand this, It was too painful for me- Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I undrestood their end. Asaph finally did what he should have done in the first place: He took the problem to God. When he tried to undrestand it on his own it was too painful for him. He couldn't figure out on his own why these wicked people were so prosperous. Why everything seemed to go their way. But when he went to church, God revealed to him the final result of living a lifestyle that leaves God out of the picture. (It's amazing to me how we always seem to go to God as a last resort whenever we're in a crisis. We try to handle it ourselves or try to figure it out ourselves. When we do that we almost always fail and always rob ourselves of a blessing. If we would take our problems to God when they first occur and trust Him to take care of them, we would save ourselves a lot of grief )

When he finally took his problem to God, he found out that the lost are standing of very unstable ground.Look at verses 18 & 19. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. Have you ever noticed how many of the rich and famous are alcoholics and drug addicts? Our lives are very unstable without God; and we tend to think that fame and fortune will make us stable and sure. But the exact opposite is true. Jesus is our rock, our sure foundation. As long as our feet are planted firmly on Him, we will never fall. That's what Jesus was talking about in Luke 6:47-49 when He was talking about building your house on a rock. Jesus said, " Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. "

Our inclination is to envy those who have more possessions than we have; to want more and better because someone else has more and better things than we do. But, just because someone else seems to be better off, doesn't always mean thay are. We don't know what goes on behind the closed doors of their life. All the possessions; all the so called lucky breaks; all the popularity in the world will mean nothing when that day comes that we must all stand before the throne of God and give an account of our lives. Look at what the Bible says about riches. Proverbs 11:4&28 - Riches do no profit in the day of wrath, but richteousness delivers from death. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. Also look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:16-21, Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: " The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ' What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, ' I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods, and I will say to my soul, " Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." " But God said to him, ' Fool ! This night your soul will be required of you; Then whose will those things be which you have provided? ' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Also look at verses 22 & 31, Then He said to His disciples, " Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. But seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you." We look at these words and think, " It's a lot easier to say than to do." and it's true, it is easier to say something than to do something. It will take a lot of hard work and prayer. But, if we are to have a peaceful life, a life that is pleasing to the Lord, we need to get rid of the jealousy and envy in our life. That's what Asaph had to do. Look at the final verses of our Psalm. Verses 21-28 - Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. The Lord will convict us of our sin, just as He did to Asaph. I like these two verses because whenever God convicts me of my sin, I feel the same way Asaph did; foolish and ignorant, like a dumb wild animal. But, just like Asaph, whenever I repent of the sin, I feel free and clean, and I can see clearly the blessings of God in my life.

The grass does sometimes look greener in someone elses yard. But if we put as much effort into taking care of our yard as we do envying someone elses yard. We'll find our yard isn't so bad after all. In fact, we're alot better off both Spiritually and mentally. We'll find our yard is one that is greener, because we have Someone taking care of it for us.

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