Do Not Fret!

I cannot imagine a more poignant and applicable command in Scripture for most of us! Three times in Psalm 37 the Psalmist says, “Do not fret.”

What does it mean to fret? The dictionary says, “to cause to suffer emotional strain: vex. To grate, wear away, corrode. To affect something by gnawing or biting. To chafe.”

Basically when we fret about something we are allowing that thing (whatever it is) to gnaw away at our insides. It chafes our soul raw. It grates against our nerves and makes us unhappy and agitated.

The specific situation that David is addressing is fretting because others succeed in their ways. Such success comes because of evil and manipulative scheming, and such “evil men” are not concerned about faithfulness before God and caring compassion toward others.

Do not be envious of those who do wrong—nothing could be more pertinent for us to hear today! God does not want us to look at what others have gotten and envy their treasure trove of possessions and positions that have become their idols.

It is easy to fret, though. Here is what we hear ourselves telling ourselves:

·         Man, did he get a break! I wish I could have the same luck;

·         It is not fair. He got away with murder, and got rich doing it!

·         I wish I had her market savvy. She got rich quick. And no one knows how!

·         Some things got passed under the table without notice. How did they get so lucky?

·         That’s business. Too bad someone got hurt. I envy that unfeeling approach. I am not there yet.

·         How in the world did she get so far ahead? I’ve worked twice as hard. I deserve that position.

·         Keep God out of this. It is cut throat, and you just have to suck it up and be tough.

Each of us can keep on adding to this litany of “envious self-flagellation” that does not honor God.  What is the answer to this? The Psalmist has a two-fold response: realize that “evil men” are going to soon wither away and die; and, trust in the Lord and do good.

Sounds almost too easy. But there is a high price to be paid for fretting. When one’s emotions are rubbed raw, when something gnaws at our insides, when our souls are chafed, and when something grates against our nerves, it is hard to love God and neighbor.

Read this Psalm for yourself. Fretting leads to evil! Such strong language and prohibition against it may catch us off guard. But think of all the ways in which David learned the hard way that fretting does not serve any good purpose!  Do we need to remind ourselves today, “Do not fret?!”

In Christian love, Curtis