Tripping into the Trap

12 This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,    and every morning brings new punishments.

(Psalm 73)

This is where we end up when we forget verse 1: God is Good. When we take our eyes off of Him and put them on the wicked all around us, who could care less about God or what He values, we fall into envy, discontent, and self-pity. All we can see is our attempts to please God (self-righteousness?) and our problems(which seem to be ever-increasing)  We no longer look to God - except maybe to complain (and silently shake the fist?)  That last phrase, however, should grip us. What else is new every morning? God's mercies, which are more than sufficient for those new "punishments" and afflictions.  When we look the wrong place, we trip into the trap of doubt, discouragement, and downright self-centeredness. Today, let's turn our eyes back (see the parallel in Psalm 37) to Good God.