Fomoog

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. _{Proverbs 23:17}

Have you ever been envious of someone else’s lifestyle? Have you ever thought, ‘I would love to do that – go there – say that, and not feel guilty about it.’? Do you imagine it to be liberating in some way?

Temptation isn’t always a neon sign pointing toward the forbidden fruit; it can sometimes be subtle and unassuming. Stepping off the narrow path, however, never leads to anywhere good.

A lot of people suffer from that well known ailment, fomo – fear of missing out – so they follow the crowd to the land of lure. The problem with following the crowd or envying those who seem to have the best time all the time, is we discover it’s not real. All those bright, shiny, exciting desires that pull us in, never live up to expectation. They are completely hollow and only provide more emptiness.

Some of the Corinthian Christians struggled with outside influences and the pleasures they once entertained, so Paul urged them to imitate him because he imitated Christ. What he saying to them was, if you are going to be envious of, and follow the lifestyle of another, then make sure it is someone who is following Christ.

We may not have the confidence of Paul but we can lead lives that others want to follow, so that the only fear they have is the fear of missing out on God.