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?
Your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor,
you who practice deceit.
You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah
You love every harmful word,
O you deceitful tongue!
Psalm 52:1-4
Plotting destruction, speaking deceit, and liking it: These aren’t small accusations in the eyes of God. To make them, you better be sure. And if it’s true, we better beware, especially if there is any part of us that enjoys it (See verse 4). David understood that. He knew both sides of that fence. His strategy? Chase after the heart of God and ask Him to search through his.
Our problem is that we are people of extremes. And we fool ourselves. We don’t understand that there are soft and secret words that can be just as harmful and deceitful as the loud and proud (vs.4). We don’t consider it evil when we stretch the truth or make assumptions about others, yet scripture tells us that any speaking falsehood is evil (vs.3). We think each word stands on its own although scriptures shows how each word builds on it self and can become even an unintentional plot of damage (vs.2). And we don’t even see how when we do this, even in private, we are a disgrace in the eyes of God (vs.1).
David understood what was at stake. Psalm 52 reminds us in verse 5.
“Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.” – Psalm 52:5
Wow, that’s serious. There are three things that stand out to me in this list of consequences: The first seems to be a personal consequence, whatever that may look like, the second of provision or position, and the third possibly the consequence of a full or vibrant life.
These things are significant. As believers, how we view others is significant. How we view ourselves impacts how we view others regardless of who they actually are. And it’s a big deal to God. So big that David has confidence that God won’t put up with it.
We need to invest more time into thinking how we treat one another.
Father, the hidden sins are the hardest for us. The irony is that they’re the most obvious to others. We easily fool ourselves. We indict ourselves only on what we think others see or know. And we begin to believe it ourselves. I’m reminded today that you know everything. And we could be indicted on every account. So we come back to Grace, the very thing that Christ came to give. Thank you for that act of benevolence. Amen.
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Psalm 52 – Made-Of?
ReplyDeleteV6&7 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"
Every day we see God in mountains, sunsets, miracles, and words of encouragement by others, events, coincidences, healing and unanswered prayers.
But do we see Him in the tragedy of those with hubris here on earth? What about Bernie Madoff? A friend once wrote about ‘schadenfreude’ – the satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune. Do we feel satisfaction or pity for Bernie Madoff?
Two days ago federal authorities seized Bernard Madoff's Palm Beach mansion, his vintage yacht and a smaller boat Wednesday, part of an effort to recoup assets to pay back investors he swindled. Madoff, 70, is in jail in New York, faces up to 150 years behind bars.
Prosecutors are seizing Madoff's personal fortune, and have begun demanding millions of dollars in payments from his relatives. Roughly 6,700 people have filed claims for a share of whatever is recovered. Thousands more -- some who lost in excess of $1 million -- are expected to come forward.
How do you feel about Bernie, do you feel good about what is happening to him or do you feel for a 70 year-old man sitting for the rest of his life in prison? I think if you get satisfaction and you feel better about yourself you need to ask, “What am I Made Of?”
We are getting towards a dangerous point in our society, a point where derision and scorn are being heaped on anyone with motivation, anyone striving for success, anyone trying to achieve something. We are getting to the point where we want to tear others down to our level, to make ourselves feel good about our situation. Psalm 52 is clear, “Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living”
Our job is not to tear other people down. When you see Madoff, do you see God at work or do you see something that needs to be fixed by man? We need to hand these situations over to God, trust Him, know His plan is good and right and not try to help God judge those on earth. In the course of human events, every time a down and out majority has tried to make themselves feel good about their own lot in life by tearing down those they think have ill-gotten gains, society has suffered tremendous pain and trauma.
The American Dream, it is what we are Made Of- the term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states: "The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
What are we Made-Of?