17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,     but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. 18 There is surely a future hope for you,     and your hope will not be cut off.19 Listen, my son, and be wise,     and set your heart on the right path: 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine     or gorge themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,     and drowsiness clothes them in rags.REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadThis section talks about two dangers or sins that I don’t think about very much. The first is envying sinners (v 17). What is it about sinners that you are tempted to envy? Sometimes I envy their apparently carefree attitude and lifestyle. At other times, I feel jealous of the results it has brought them – money, a beautiful house, luxury holidays, and all the stuff they buy.Verses 17 and 18 are so helpful for refocusing my heart. The way to not be jealous of sinners is to be zealous for the Saviour! It’s to stop gazing at the shallow pleasures of those around us, and to gaze more on our infinite, glorious, loving heavenly Father. Knowing him deeply is what will fully satisfy our hearts.And verse 18 reminds me that in the end, those who trust in Christ and live for him will not miss out on anything, because in Christ we have a glorious future hope, a rich, eternal inheritance that is stored up for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). Whatever you feel like you’re missing out on, knowing God is far more satisfying – and there’ll be something a million times better in heaven anyway.The second danger is the sin of gluttony, that is, overindulging in wine and food, which leads to poverty (vv 20-21). That made me reflect on the need to learn self-control, moderation and restraint when it comes to earthly pleasures in general. The New Testament church continued to practise fasting (Acts 13:2-3) – and there are other areas of life where we might need to learn to abstain, if we are getting too absorbed by addictive pleasures. A few years ago I did a “social media fast” for a month, which did me a lot of good. Maybe I need to repeat it – who’s with me? Or is there something else you need to cut back on?In the end, the goal is what we saw in verses 17 & 18: to find our maximum delight in God himself, and to fix our eyes on our future hope when Jesus returns – not to gorge our appetites on fading pleasures.ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen leads the St Barnabas ministry team.