Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. ~Psalm 37:4
Before the days of television remotes, going from one broadcast program to another was a hassle. It’s a good thing that there were only three channels to choose from, or we would have gotten some actual exercise back then.
Of course, we do have remotes for our televisions and for other entertainment-related electronics. This is good since we now have hundreds of stations to choose from as well as web access for our computers and flat screens. Imagine the workout we’d get without those little handheld transmitters. In fact, I’ll bet no one will be surprised if “channel surfing” eventually becomes an Olympic event.
At any rate, I was surfing the other night and happened on one of those entertainment shows—kind of like a televised version of People Magazine. I stopped clicking because I recognized the Hollywood star on camera. I’ve seen some of his pictures, and I was interested in what he might have to say.
During the interchange, the actor disclosed that, because he’s so much in demand, he now makes twenty million dollars for every movie. Then, in response to a question about his personal life—which is the real reason for this show’s existence—he talked about his girlfriend. And in a tone of voice filled with as much remorse as if he were sharing a story about jaywalking in a big city, he talked about waking up one morning, rolling over, and asking her to marry him.
I surfed on.
Is this fair? I mused as the television finally rested on the news. For as long as I can remember, I have been doing battle with sin. There are times when it wraps itself around me like a powerful snake, squeezing the life out of me. Sometimes I am victorious, and sometimes I’m not. When, by God’s grace, righteousness wins, I celebrate. When sin wins, I pay. But here’s a guy making more money in two months than I’ll make in a lifetime who doesn’t seem to suffer at all in the face of unashamed immorality. Not only doesn’t he seem to pay for his fornication, when a show like this one broadcasts and celebrates it, it’s almost as though he gets paid for it.
“No, it’s not fair,” seemed to be the only logical answer to my question.
The book of Psalms is filled with quotable quotes. Today’s verse is one of them. And it provides the right perspective on the conundrum you’ll face if you watch one of those celebrity shows tonight. If you “take delight in the Lord,” then He “will give you your heart’s desires” (v. 4). He’ll give you what His heart desires, which is a lot more than twenty million dollars’ worth of peace and joy in Him.
Unfortunately, with this priority firmly in place, you’ll probably never be interviewed by one of the reporters for “Hollywood’s Best Trash Tonight” or “Sleeping Around for Fun and Profit.”
But that’s OK. When you have a minute, look through this psalm. It’s filled with promises that are much better than anything worldly fame has to offer.
These promises are all good.