Fret (k)nots.

A young man went to his scout leader who was diligently tying a knot to hold together two wooden sticks to fashion a makeshift support for a tent.  The young man asked the scout leader, “what knot are you tying?”

The scout leader said, “it’s a fret-knot.”

The young scout paid careful attention, went away, grabbed a bit of rope, and went to work trying to duplicate the scout leader’s rope tying technique.

Hours later, the young scout returned, sullen and defeated.

The scout leader noticed and said, “what has you down?”

The young scout replied, “I can’t figure out how to tie a fret-knot.”

The scout leader said, “don’t worry about it.”

Psalm 37 teaches us how to tie a fret (k)not.

  Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!  For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.  Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:1-4 ESV)

Step one, don’t worry about the prosperity of evildoers. 

I’m sure we have all done what David cautions us not to do; we have all looked at the relative prosperity of those who have compromised their integrity and forsaken God’s way.  David reminds us not to worry about those things; the evildoer will soon fade away like withering grass.

Step two, be patient.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (Psalm 37:5-7 ESV)

Instead of worrying about how well others are doing, David counsels us to commit our way to the Lord and be still before God.  Patience is step two. 

Step two takes a long time.

Step three, chill out.

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.  For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.  In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.  But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. (Psalm 37:8-11 ESV)

Step three is learning to control our tempers.  To forsake wrath and realize that the meek are the ones who will inherit the land long after the wicked have perished.

The book of Ephesians gives the same advice.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV)

Anger will tie us in knots (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it), but the Bible says that we are called to reflect the kind of love, mercy, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness that we have received from the Lord in Christ.

Tonight, before we sleep, let’s all practice tying fret (k)nots.

Keep safe, be well, and stay encouraged.

Brian