Today’s Scripture Reading (July 25,
2013): Psalm 115
I am
seriously conflicted about awards that we give to each other. I mean, I
understand the reason why we do it. To give an award; or to chase after an
award, is always a good motivator. Even a lot of children will work harder for
silver or gold star that lurks at the end of the road. But on the other side of
the equation I also struggle with the current “everybody wins” strategy in
children’s athletics. It seems that “everybody wins” only promotes mediocrity.
And as much as we say that “everybody wins” promotes fun, I have to admit that
as a kid I wanted a winner and a loser – even though most of the time I ended
up on the losing side of the equation. I guess it was just my competitive
nature that made me want to get better – at whatever it was that I was doing.
And in this my conflict is revealed. For me, neither option really seems to
work.
Life seems
to be about winners and losers. I see it all around me. People either win or
they lose. It seems to be one of the constants of our existence. But another
constant of our existence is that while we may lose alone, we rarely win alone.
Whenever we win there is usually a list of people that are standing with us. And
for the Christian, we also recognize the role that God in our lives – and in
our wins.
This Psalm
seems to have been written after a time of national defeat and despair. The
nation was vulnerable, and the Psalmist knew it. Three possibilities seem to
have been raised about the possible time of national emergency and the composition
of the Psalm. One is immediately following the defeat in which the good King
Josiah was killed, and with Josiah’s death the hopes and dreams of the nation
also died. A second possibility is following the first conquest of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, and the last possibility was during the early days of Judah’s
return from captivity in Babylon. But whichever situation it was, the only way
out of it was going to be if the people of Judah could learn to come together –
and if they could put their full trust in their God. If they could not do both
of these things, no win would be realized - and no award would be given.
When so much
of the good that we do is because of the way we work together – and the way
that we allow God to move through us, that it hardly seems fair to accept an
award for the things that we get right. The Psalmist would seem to agree as he
writes the words “Not to us but to your Name be the glory.” And for the
Christian, I am convinced that the motive to get better should never be for the
recognition that we might get out of the situation, but rather because we want
to be the best that we can be in honor of our God. But in these situations we
also have to come the realization that the win – and the award - really belong to him.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
116 & 117
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