Day 260 – Who are the wicked among us?
Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World
Scripture focus: I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me. Psalm 39:1 NLT
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I approach my spiritual life as if it were a bad diet. Let me explain. Have you ever tried to go on a really bad diet – one that you know is terrible for you, probably illogical, definitely too expensive – but it holds out the promise of losing up to ten pounds a day? The promise seems too good to be true – because it is – but the allure of perfection and a quick fix causes us to abandon all reason!
When I try to live my life independently of God – it is too much for me! I end up stressed out. This is an example of cyclical suffering. In recovery lingo, we call it “doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.” Intellectually, I get the foolishness of my ways; emotionally, I’m under stress. With stress giving my mid-brain a workout, I stop using my whole brain and start living as if I’m trying to survive a disaster. It’s at moments like this when bad diets and spiritual over-achieving seem like good ideas.
I re-double my efforts at prayer, quiet time, and service for others. I swear off fiction and obsessively read the Christian’s equivalent of self-help books. I wake up extra early and stay up late at night, peering intently into God’s word. Just like those crazy diets, this kind of frenetic faith does offer some short term pay-offs.
But it also leads to trouble. Have you ever experienced success in dieting and exercise to the point where you become arrogant? Have you ever “tsk-tsked” as you watched someone chow down on desserts while you sip water and munch on a rice cake? If so, you know what I mean! Anytime we commit ourselves to being on our best behavior, it’s easy to all of a sudden have a bad attitude towards the “slackers” of the world!
Imagine the psalmist, biting his tongue in an effort to avoid sinning (and not get in trouble). He looks around, and observes how others chatter on around him. The resentment builds. He thinks, “How dare the ungodly talk while I’m holding my tongue?”
If our attempts at better behaving are driven by a desire to avoid trouble – how is that godly? When we go on crazy diets that leave our bodies weak and malnourished – how can we call that healthy? If our efforts to self-improve are driven by a concern for appearance management or in an effort to avoid suffering – does that make us godly – or people who have adopted a new strategy to get our own way?
Who are the ungodly among us? Could it be….me?
Let’s each self-examine with this questions: Am I really living God’s way, or am I trying to spiritualize my attempt to get my own way all the time?
Recommended reading: Isaiah 25 and 26 in the morning; Isaiah 26 and Galatians 3 in the evening
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