Is there anyone in the Bible who messes up more than King David? Sometimes I feel like this. Like I’m always messing up in the eyes of God. I know by society’s standards I’m a good, moral person. But that’s not enough, I know that I fall short of God’s standards.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
This verse reminds me that no matter how short I fall, and fall I will, if I am truly repentant, God will always take me back.
Psalm 52
This Psalm talks of one who “loves” evil. I remember reading recently in "Mere Christianity," by C.S. Lewis, that very few, if any, people commit evil solely for the sake of committing evil. That they usually commit acts of evil because they don’t see them as evil, or they do, but they gain some selfish benefit from the act. And I would agree with that statement. In RPG circles, we call this kind of evil for it’s own sake “stupid evil.”
But at first glance, this Psalm seems to be describing someone exactly that way.
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 Your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor,
you who practice deceit.
3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
And it makes me wonder if those people realyl do exist. But I remember a sermon one Sunday where the pastor made mention of the fact that the Jewish people had many words for what in English gets translated as “love.” Keeping that in mind, once I get to verse 7:
7 "Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!"
I can see that the passage is really talking about someone who betters himself at the expense of others. One who loves his deeds and accomplishments as his own instead of giving glory and honor to God. One who “loves evil” not necessarily for evil’s sake, but because of the power it gives him over his fellow man. He loves being evil because of the self-gratification it can provide.
The last verse:
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.
Reminds me that I need to give credit for all of my accomplishments to who it truly belongs. Him.
Psalm 53
A short one, and not quite sure what else to take from it that I don’t already know. Although, again from “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis talks about how good teachers know they need to repeat certain points over and over again in order to drive them home. Perhaps that’s what this is.
To me, it sounds like the Psalm is lamenting that everyone has turned their backs on God and reminding us just how powerful an ally God can be when we let Him. And I do think there are times in my life where I struggle needlessly, where if I just had the presence of mind to call on Him, I would be much better off. And I think that presence of mind comes from a strong faith.
Romans 2
The first four verses talk about a staple that we as Christians need to make particularly sure we’re consistent on: not judging others. This is one of those points that really gets hammered home, and it’s obvious why. There are a lot of Christians who like to point out the flaws in non-Christians, or even other Christians, and practically consign them to hell.
I’ve not always been perfect, but I do believe that one of my strengths is not being judgemental. I may not always approve of certain actions, but I’ve never told anyone, or even said it to myself, that someone is going to hell for what they’re doing.
But yet, the first verse still got to me, because I must admit to a certain amount of judging of people who judge others! I certainly don’t condemn them to hell, but I still think to myself that they’re being bad Christians, and that thought in and of itself feels very judgemental to me. As Christians, we certainly have a duty to our brothers and sisters in Christ to help them discover their own stumbling blocks if they can’t see them for themselves, but there is a very fine line between that and judging, and I think that quietly disapproving their actions to myself is no better than judging them. It certainly isn’t helping them, or me. And even if it’s not too hurtful, if I’m not careful, it can snowball in to full-fledged judging, so I feel it’s best to eliminate the thought altogether.
The rest of the chapter feels to me like it’s really trying to drive home the fact that it’s not enough to just know the word and the will of God. One has to love it, breathe it, desire it, want it, live it. We can have all the answers, but if we never use them, they’re useless.
As a whole, it seems to me like this chapter is basically telling me that knowing the answers and telling others how they’re getting it wrong is not the right path. Being a living, breathing, daily example of what is right is the correct path.
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