January 12, 2009
my way or HIS WAY...DON'T CHOOSE THE WRONG WAY!
Psalm 8
Tyler Whann
Central Truth
God is God, and we are NOT, despite our struggle for significance in this world. He is worthy of our praise. Ultimately, every knee will bow down to Him, whether we like it or not.
Key Verse | Psalm 8:3–4
When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,
Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them? (Psalms 8:3-4)
Psalm 8
How Majestic Is Your Name
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. 1 8:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term A Psalm of David.
1
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
2
8:5
Or than God; Septuagint than the angels
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Dive Deeper | Psalm 8
It's good to be the king of my universe! Or is it? In the last several years, I have been very blessed to have a tremendous amount of flexibility to set my own work schedule. In the first year of having this flexibility, my schedule was all about me. I exercised when I wanted, went to lunch when it fit my schedule, and, basically, laid out my calendar to make it most convenient for me.
This may sound great on the surface, but I was more empty and discontented in my life than I had ever been. Pouring into myself was lonely. How could toiling so hard to reach a level in my career that afforded me this freedom and flexibility result in me feeling so empty?
The answer was simple: I was self-absorbed rather than outward focused. I was my own idol, praising the works of my hands versus God's. I was chasing worldly significance by pursuing material items. I was choosing MY WAY versus HIS WAY. And I was empty! This was the by-product of self-absorption.
I had not yet grasped what David so clearly expressed and seemed to understand in Psalm 8:3-4. He expressed his frailty before God and how far beneath God he was. He recognized his place before God. He contemplated the question of "who is man" that the God of the universe would grant him dominion over the earth and allow him a place just underneath the heavenly beings. Why wouldn't I yearn to praise a God like that and make my life about making Him more famous by loving and serving others? After all, He knows more than I about living a life filled with purpose.
It took the friends in my life and my wife lovingly interceding with a velvet hammer to redirect the focus off of myself. I can say with certainty that the more I've focused on others, the more contentment and joy I've found. I've learned that it is really true that the antidote to discontentment is to die to self by pouring into others.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you look for and act upon opportunities to serve others without expecting anything in return?
2. Do you truly BELIEVE that joy and contentment come from serving others rather than self, or do you just think this intellectually without BELIEF?
3. When you serve others, do you do it out of praise and admiration for what Jesus did for you?