NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Day 264 – Pity Parties

Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World

Scripture focus: When you put us through the fire to purge us from our sin, our dearest idols go up in smoke. Are we also nothing but smoke? Psalm 39:11 The Message


Yesterday I suggested that there can be a gap between keeping it real and being honesty. For me, this is a big deal. Who values hypocrisy? - no one that I know. But I fear that in our efforts to “keep it real” we might be making excuses for blunt, boundary-less communication.

Honesty helps us avoid this problem.

The psalmist has been real, but I think the case could be made that he is not quite honest with himself. That’s okay, sometimes we have to spout off before we can shape up. But it is not healthy to stay in the spouting place for too long.

The value of “keeping it real” is often found in the aftermath, when others provide feedback and help us get honest. Don’t hear me saying that “keeping it real” is a bad thing. It isn’t. But it isn’t the whole deal – it’s simply a decent place to start.

To answer the psalmist’s question – are we also nothing but smoke? The truth is, yes, sometimes we are nothing but smoke. Unfortunately, my dearest idol has sometimes been myself. This isn’t my true, God-created self. It’s the self that wants to get her way all the time. It’s the self that when things don’t go according to my plan, I start throwing a big pity party and only invite myself. It’s the self that devalues others, experiences paranoid loneliness, and all those other symptoms that come with idolatrous living. (See Galatians 5:19-21.)

I bet this guy wrote this psalm hoping that someone would comfort him in his misery and remind him of his value. Comfort and valuing are good things. But a true friend might also ask him to consider some other things – like whether he’s being arrogant or angry or self-pitying or vying for attention.

As we find ourselves “keeping it real” – let’s make sure we’re also getting really honesty about our own stuff.



Recommended reading: Isaiah 37 and 38 in the morning; Psalm 44 and Galatians 6 in the evening

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