1 I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.
2 We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.
4 We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant.
We've had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud.
We quickly agree until we read the context. the Psalmist is referring to people of faith who somehow believe they stand on equal footing with God. Well, that give us pause...because he may be referring to you or me.
What does it mean to be a "proud" or "arrogant" believer?
Our hint is the Psalmist's own approach to God. "We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal." We live in a culture that portrays God as our "friend". The problem with this paradigm is it leads us to the erroneous conviction that God and us are somehow in a realtionship of equals that allows for debate and disagreement. It explains why so many Christians can have completely unbiblical views on certain issues and still feel comfortable with themselves.
"Well, that might be what the Bible says, but I don't see it that way..."
It's as though they have decided they are right and God is wrong...with no sense of trepidation. I believe this kind of arrogance only comes from a failure to recognize the might and majesty of God. Our Psalmist correctly sees his place more as a servant, or slave. This view confirms that our only responsibility toward God is to obey Him and live in a way that brings Him pleasure.
Don't get caught up in this cultural reconstruction of God...it will only bring trouble...and will certainly not result in a demonstration of God's mercy.
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment