A Word for the 99%
We haven’ heard much out the 99% percent lately, but they (we) are definitely still around. Whether you agreed with the protests or not, the feelings that promoted them are nothing new. There is however a right and wrong way to deal with those feelings. Here’ how Asaph handled it as recorded in Psalm 73:
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
Instead of grumbling and complaining about them and wanting to be like them, Asaph goes on to say:
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
Finally Asaph concludes:
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
The Holman Christian translates the beginning of this last verse as, “God’s presence is my good.” I needed this reminder. Most of us do from time to time. It is what’s truly important.
from my notebook 