My dad sent me this Psalm recently and I have read it over and over again.
But I nearly missed it,
missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way,
looking up to the people
At the top,
envying the wicked who have it made,
Who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.
Pretentious with arrogance,
they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed,
decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill;
they bully their way with words.
They're full of hot air,
loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
What's going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody's tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches.
I've been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that's what—
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.
If I'd have given in and talked like this,
I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out,
all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you've put them on,
with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster!
A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes....Nothing.
There's nothing to them. And there never was.
When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very presence.
I'm still in your presence,
but you've taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me.
You're all I want in heaven!
You're all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
Deserters, they'll never be heard from again.
But I'm in the very presence of God—
oh, how refreshing it is!
I've made Lord God my home.
God, I'm telling the world what you do!
-Psalm 73 (The Message)
He sent it in the context of us living in such a wealthy and possession oriented county, which it is. We live in a place where you never look good enough or have enough "things" and you definitely should not talk about what you don't have or pretend to be anything less than perfect. It's sad. I use to try and live up to the status, but it's nearly impossible. Now, I feel like I am rebelling towards it. I still love living here but I want to shout to the world that I am imperfect and (gasp) happier. I learned how to separate myself from the possessions and social status, well because I was stripped of all of it. God made sure of that. I have less conflict in my life and less feeling of inadequacy. You give up on wanting things, when all of the few dollars you have has to go to feeding, clothing and housing your family.
I have also put this Psalm in context with the celebrities that we idolize. We make celebrities out of people like the Kardashians who want more, more, and more. We let them rant on Twitter and people pay attention to what they are saying. We somehow broadcast and glorify a politician's misgivings. Sure, we may not agree but we don't mind blasting it on every cover of every magazine and giving them book deals. We may "look down on them" but we allow them to be celebrities. I don't understand the culture that we live in today. Kids look up to celebrities who do drugs, have babies out of marriage, get divorced often and who have "the most." Tabloids and paparazzi must make God cringe.
It's time for us to take our lives back and stop looking at and envying people "at the top," whether that is in your community or a celebrity. We have to do it for our children.
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