The Problem of They, I, and You...
By Dean Collins
It is clear from the pages of scripture that all of us will and do have seasons of struggle. God’s word establishes that in this world there is suffering, and no one is immune. There is no vaccination that can prevent each of us from having some difficulties. We’ve discussed that at the fall of man, there were consequences for all of creation, and some suffering is simply a result of this reality.
We’ve also established that God made a way for us to be saved by his grace and to be heirs of his promises of eternal life, which happens at the moment we acknowledge Jesus’ death and resurrection and, therefore, order our lives by surrender to him. We also know from scripture that even the saved live in the fallen world and, therefore, experience difficulties due to our current proximity on this side of eternity.
David in Psalm 37 and his fellow songwriter Asaph in Psalm 73 remind us of a problem all of us must deal with appropriately. I’m so glad scripture gives us clear directions in dealing with our thoughts while on this side of eternity. God’s promises to be with us and guide us and fill us are true, and we have evidence of how clear biblical thinking and behavior protects us in Psalm 73.
First, the psalmist declares that God is good. We have all experienced the goodness of God, and frankly, we see it over and over when we pay attention to God’s truth. But the psalmist makes a confession that I need to make too, and I bet you will agree with me as you evaluate your situation. “But as for me, my feet almost stumbled, I almost slipped on a slippery place...” I can’t tell you how many times I almost tripped, and we don’t want to discuss the times we did crash because of stepping on a slippery place instead of a firm foundation!
Then we see the problem that both David and Asaph had. We see this problem in other biblical characters, and I bet you’ve seen it in your own life. The problem has to do with the direction of our eyes. Every time we chose to focus on “they,” we have stepped on a slippery place. “They” can give our mind and our hearts all kinds of problems, and, if we don’t divert our eyes, we will end up on our rears!
It is easy to see how “they” have all the blessings, all the best vacations, the better marriages, the better pastor, the better job, the lessor problems, and on and on. We can’t dispute that at a glance it’s possible to assume that someone else has it better. But focusing on other people’s blessings or even problems does nothing good for our minds, our hearts, our souls, or our situations. It’s a trap that, if set, will result in a sin of envy. And envy is an anti-God place to park. Envy is a problem of the flesh and is opposite to the fruit of the Spirit.
But faithful followers are not immune to the glance to others and their seeming advantage. For the psalmist, the correction was a quick admission of his glance.
In fact, the psalmist admitted that he glanced long enough that he had become envious. The truth is that we aren’t perfect, so we might as well admit it: We sometimes take a step too far and the result is, in fact, sin. The good news is that we don’t have to park there. Jesus has paid for our sin, and we can repent and turn away from our sin. The psalmist did just that. Once he caught himself, he turned away with the “I” statement. I sinned. I was envious. I was jealous. I was lustful. Iwas selfish. You fill in your own “I” when you sin just as I must fill in mine. Admitting our sin is a part of the correction.
And now, we get to the right and ultimate place of our focus. The psalmist gives us a beautiful place to focus. It is the ultimate place of forgiveness, of rest, of peace, of clarity.
“Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
“You,” “Thou, O Lord,” the great “I am,” is the place of focus that gives life. The more we focus on God and his goodness, the less we will be tempted to distraction from others. Our God can and will supply all of our needs. The psalmist’s corrected focus led to a proper partnership and relationship with God. And when we have our relationship with God in place, then we can have appropriate and healthy relationships with others and our perspective of them is also corrected.
Lord, forgive us of moments when we have lost our focus. We place our eyes on you today and trust you as our source of everything. We commit to always turning to you first so that the enemy cannot trip us up. You are our protection. You are our refuge. You are our deliverer. You are our father, and we thank you!
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalms 37:1-29, 32-40, 73:1-28 ESV
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