When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
In the midst of suffering, Christians can fail to rejoice in future blessings resulting from obedience. Additionally, the trials of life can cause one to lose focus on the unseen future blessings. One such case involves rightfully leaving vengeance to the Lord (Romans 12:19). God's blessings are frequently not seen or realized until much later. The meek who leave vengeance to the Lord have God's promise that "The LORD lifteth up the meek" (Psalm 147:6). Nevertheless, a believer living a meek life may become disheartened by those who take advantage of kindheartedness. In fact, a meek and compassionate believer may appear weak in the eyes of the world necessitating the Lord's deliverance (Psalm 76:9; Psalm 149:4). In the end, the Lord will deliver (Psalm 76:9), lift up (Psalm 147:6), beautify (Psalm 149:4), and bless (Matthew 5:5) the meek. It is important to remember that the future blessings following life's temporary trials are worth forgoing the immediate pleasures that might come from taking matters into our own hands.
