Selwyn in his consideration of envy, makes this statement: “Our emotions, which are often stirred by our interactions with others or by our attitude to things, tell us something about our concept and understanding of God. The presence of envy in our hearts raises the question: Is God fair? Is He good and will He bless me in the way He appears to bless others?”

The answer is that God is always fair and just in all that He does. What may appear to be unfair to us, can only arise because we are have not been told all of the details – parts (and, often the greater part) of the greater story are not available to us right now.  It comes down to this basic question – do you trust God with your life?

I do. First off, He loves me – and, all of Scripture tells me that; secondly, He has created everything and is in control of all creation. Therefore, whatever He does, or does not do, is for my eternal benefit – it’s that simple to me. True, I will suffer and have suffered during my life – but it’s only a heart beat compared to eternity. As someone has said: “It’s just one bad night in a motel – before we reach the safety, joy and peace of our eternal, never-ending home.” Do you agree?

Selwyn continues his discussion on Psalm 73 and the issue of envy.

A person who is not a follower of Jesus, would find what Selwyn wrote today – to be arrogant and perhaps even offensive. It’s a spiritual reaction – indeed, it’s a good test of a person’s spiritual state. A person, who is in a state of rebellion against God, will always feel a sense of anger when they read the following statements made by Selwyn.

“To those reading this who are not yet Christians I do not wish to appear arrogant, but it is my belief that  only a Christian has the potential to see life whole. Unbelievers are not able to do this. How can they when their thinking takes place only on the level of the natural? Natural thinking is partial and incomplete. And the only way you can see life whole is to stand in the presence of God, read His Word, and think His thoughts after Him.”

To be arrogant: making unwarrantable claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud [MacquarieDictionary]. Consequently, the above words by Selwyn could only be considered arrogant if his claims were unwarranted; that is, if his claims were not true.

Indeed, there were some who considered Jesus’ words to be arrogant, if we look at Luke 4:14-30 (New Living Translation): ‘Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.’

At first, the people in Nazareth did not fully understand what Jesus was saying; initially, they concentrated on how well he spoke – considering, he was only the son of the local carpenter. They had heard about the miracles he had been doing in other towns and they were eager to receive the benefits of the miracles they expected him to perform in his hometown. In a deliberate way, Jesus was telling them in language they could understand, that he was indeed a prophet; he was no longer – just, Joseph’s son.  They, then became angry and wanted to hurt him – they could accept him as Joseph’s son –  a famous miracle worker; but not an ‘arrogant’ man – one, who claimed to a prophet; and one, no less than the promised Messiah.

God left his hometown of Nazareth as He found it – a town without faith. Likewise, He will also leave those who deny the truth of His words; and go on His way ‘to bring Good News to the poor – to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, and that the oppressed will be set free.’   Selwyn, through his writings, is continuing to present these proclamations – and, they are true!

We spend another day with Psalm 73, these last few days demonstrate just how much is packed into each Psalm.

The point Selwyn brings to the surface in today’s study is an area which we touched upon, yesterday.

Some people go to church in order to worship God and to forget one’s troubles for a while – a brief emotional rest point, in an otherwise hectic life.  If, we leave our weekly church service with the same understanding of our spiritual state, as when we entered the service – then, we are not growing, into mature followers of Christ.

As Selwyn writes: “In the santuary (where God dwelt), the psalmist found an explanation for the way he felt. He did not simply receive temporary respite that would last for a mere few days; he was given a solution that would stay with him for the rest of his life. It was this, in fact, that caused him to write the psalm we are focusing on at present. He had been seeing things from a partial and incomplete perspective but, in the sanctuary (in the presence of God), he began to see the whole picture. He saw life whole.”

Likewise, we too, should seek long-term solutions to our spiritual issues. Our audience with God, should not take the form of a fleeting glance in His direction, for a few seconds, each week. We should be prepared to spend the time required to listen carefully to what He has to say to us – it could dramatically change the direction our life will take. What are your views on this?

Selwyn continues his study of envy – as illustrated in Psalm 73.

He raises an important point – in the presence of God, we are able to see spiritual issues in a better light and gain a fuller understanding. We know from Scripture that when two or more are gathered, in the name of Christ, we can be sure that Jesus is present – and, that we can benefit from His presence.

Selwyn writes: “In the sanctuary (where God was present), he (the writer of Psalm 73) came to understand the final destiny of the wicked. When he saw this, everything came into focus. He had looked at the prosperity of the wicked but he had not considered their end. When he realised the final destiny of the unrepentant wicked – eternity in hell – his thinking was transformed.”

It’s my view that some church services leave little time for us to come into God’s presence so that we can talk to Him about these sorts of issues, especially when they have become roadblocks for us, on our spiritual journey. Lots of music, good teaching and standard prayers – yet, often there is no or little time, set aside for us to ’wait’ in God’s presence; to seek a clearer understanding of the specific issues we may be facing in our lives.

Do you agree?

Selwyn continues to pursue “the thought that envy distorts reality. It persuades us that those who live only for material things, who ignore God and who pay no attention to their soul, have the best kind of life. They don’t.” (Psalm 73)

There are many examples in both the Old and New Testaments where God shows His anger towards sin. Indeed there are some cases which can make immature Christians very uncomfortable because they hold a lop-sided view of God, they focus entirely on His love and ignore His perfect justice. 

In Acts 5:1-10 (NIV), we read: “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”  ”Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.”

The example, of Ananias and Sapphira, demonstrates that Jesus’ love is also seen in His justice. Their death should be a warning to all of us – the God of the Old Testament who destroyed cities full of men, women and children because of their sinful ways – is the same God, whom we worship today. Jesus hates sin and will destroy all those who don’t turn away from their sinful lives. Do you believe this?

I liked Selwyn’s conclusion: “Mysteriously, it is in sin’s nature to come out – out from the depths of the subconscious into the mind to plague it with worry, or onto the heart to turn it to gall. Sin always carries a price. Always.”

Selwyn  continues his analysis of envy; today, he says: “It is  a fallacy to think that those who are arrogantly wicked and successful have a good time. They have to live wit an emptiness that can only be filled temporarily by accomplishing more, by acquiring more, by more travel and so on. Their pursuit of money or success makes them addicts; they are not free.” He is making the point – that there is no value in envying such people.

Even if these people have a wildly, happy life here on earth, their ultimate future rests in the hands of Jesus. He is their final judge, and he knows every aspect of their life here on earth – they, must give an account of their actions to God – and, He will give them what they deserve. We must trust in His ’final’ say, about the future of such people.

I also liked the prayer for today: “O Father, the point is becoming clearer and clearer every day – I cannot live comfortably with envy. It not only distorts my vision, it separates me from You. Your way is best. May I ever be found walking in it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

I read recently, about a person who left the Christian faith because they could not reconcile in their mind that God is fundamentally,  and perfectly good. They reached this conclusion after having worked with seriously ill children being treated in hospital, where the illness and even some of the treatments (e.g. chemotherapy) were very distressful for both child and parents (and hospital staff).

The suffering of very young children called into question for this person – the goodness of God. That is, how can God allow children to suffer, if He has the power to heal/restore them? Likewise, how could a good God allow His innocent Son to die a terrible death on a cross, to save His enemies?  There are no easy answers to these questions.

The story of Job – deals with this issue – yet Job never does get an answer from God, as to ‘why’.

It has something to do with the fall of this world, and that the Prince of this world is Satan; yet, God, because of His love, is prepared to save those who believe in His Son. We don’t know the full story.  Consequently, it’s an act of faith to believe that God is the perfection of goodness – and, all His ways are just. 

I believe in Jesus – I believe He is perfectly good – I believe, I’ll fully understand this mystery – when I arrive ‘home’, to be with Him forever. It’s the Spirit of God within me, who enables me to believe!

God is God, He is my creator – I’m the created; He is the potter, I’m the clay – I accept whatever He makes of me!

Selwyn writes: “The emotion of envy was a symptom of the disease in his soul (the person who wrote Psalm 73): the suspicion that God is not good. This brings us back to what we have been emphasising – that our emotions make a profound statement: they tell us how we really feel deep down about God.”

How do you feel – deep down about God?