Psalm 73 (NRSV)
God is my portion
Truly God is good to the upright,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
Therefore the people turn and praise them,
and find no fault in them.
And they say, "How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.
If I had said, "I will talk on in this way,"
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
DEVOTION
Ah!
Today I am truly reminded of the folly of allowing myself to engage in endless jealous about the blessings of others.
Especially in American culture, we lift up "American idols." These are the rich, famous, talented, popular, and "happy" people whom we aspire to be.
We often think if I just had as much money as Bill Gates, as much power as Oprah, as much fame as J-Lo, as much happiness as Tiger Woods...
WHOOPS!
And there-in is the folly right?
Because we can never know the secret pain and shame that another human being lives with. We can never know the sin and horrors of their lives that are cast out of the limelight and into the darkness. We can never know the state of their hearts and souls...
We can only attend to our own!
It is not my obligation to keep tabs on others and wish I were them!
It is my obligation to humbly come before my God on a daily basis, confessing my sin, and receiving God's forgivness. It is my obligation to trust and obey my Lord and to believe that God will withhold no good thing from me that I truly need. And it is my obligation to invest my love not just in rock stars and politicians, but in God and neighbor.
I am so glad that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to be my HERO. We place so many people up on pedestals who do not deserve to be there! Jesus deserves the place of greatest honor in our lives. Let us exalt him!
Let us pray:
Oh holy God, thank you for loving me so! Please help me to believe that you have only good plans for my life. Please help me to banish jealousy from my heart and to trust and obey only you. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
No comments:
Post a Comment