Mar 10 - "Don't Worry...Be Happy"

"Do not fret because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong. For they shall soon wither like the grass, and like the green grass, fade away. Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches. Take delight in the Lord and He shall give you your heart's desire." -- Psalm 37: 1-18
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Do you ever find yourself spending time fretting over people who are obviously doing wrong and yet are still prospering?

Given the constant flow of information we receive from 24-hour news channels or the Web, we certainly are not at a loss for numerous examples of people doing the wrong things on a daily basis. One microcosm of this is what seems to happen in Hollywood almost every day; some celebrity dragged back into court for breaking the law, then released or receiving a hand-slap sentence, pretty much walking out the door without material consequences to their actions. Doesn't this drive you crazy? Similarly, we often see associates at work or in our other social and volunteer activities, where someone continues to move ahead or receives accolades for their work, even though you and others know they are not doing their fair share.

I certainly find myself in this spot every once in awhile. There are times when I get too focused on those people in my work life who seem to be getting ahead or at least, not being held to account, while continually doing the wrong things. This can be a pretty negative way to spend my time and mental energy, but yet, I go there and find myself getting incredibly frustrated. But, what good does this serve? Have I improved the situation at all by binding myself in this fabric of worry?

Now, I am not advocating that we should just let evil run its course and lazily allow bad things to happen. There are plenty of ways we can take action to help those who are being wronged or support those who do battle with hatred or oppression in the world. This is really more about the wasted time we spend on petty jealousies. I do believe God wants us to take a different approach to the mental anguish we can put ourselves through, unproductively worrying about these minor things. The fretting and focus can take us away from the things we should be spending our thoughts and efforts on.

This Psalm, written with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does not tell us to take action against those who do wrong or give us guidance on the steps we should put in place to resolve their nefarious acts. The Psalmist simply says that we should put our trust in the Lord. Let Him handle it. Find joy in the fact that He will take care of all things and bring us to a place of joy and peace.

The words of the Bobby McFerrin song come to mind. My apologies if you now have that song stuck in your head the rest of the day. But the advice it gives is good when it comes to these times when we can find ourselves overly-focused on others' acts.

S0, don't worry. Let the Lord take care of those things which are out of our control and cause us unproductive mental anguish. Be happy in knowing that God has got it covered.