Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? – Psalm 2:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 5, 2019): Psalm 2 & 3

“I could never worship a god like that!” It is one of the most confusing statements that I have heard from people in a discussion of God. Usually it is preceded by an unflattering description of the God that a person has put together from various sources and experiences. Their God is a Frankenstein god, it is a haphazard collection of (often) misguided beliefs about who God is and what he wants from us. It often contains a belief in a God who “hates gays” or a demanding God who wants to direct every last aspect of our lives. Once it was a “God who would sacrifice his own son on a cross. I could never worship a god like that!”  

What is even more confusing is that the originators of the comment often do, deep down, believe in God. They believe in a prime mover, someone who looks over this life. And of course at funerals they expect comments about heaven and God and the release of the one that they love to a “much better place.” They believe and are convinced that the God of their imagination exists, but they refuse to worship him. Or maybe better, they are looking for an excuse not to worship him.

But there is an important question that I think that they miss. Exactly, what other choice do you have? You may not like the God that you have built with your own misconceptions, but if that is your God, what else can you do? After all, he (or she or they) are God, at least in your mind. Do you, a human who has trouble with basic tasks like balancing a check book, have the capacity to win against the creator of the universe? Can you plan an effect way to beat God at a game of which he is the master? Can you conspire with your friends and combine your energies so that you can defeat the one who put you together? Can you?

The Psalmist is genuinely confused. Why is it that nations rebel and people conspire to go against God? What is the ultimate outcome of that battle? The reality is that the nation that conspires against a God who exists has more of an uphill battle than ant does against your foot.

To conspire against God is a battle we cannot win. I do believe, however, that we need to struggle with the God that we have built in our minds. We need to make sure that that God is real. We need to take the things that bother us about his decrees to him, and wrestle with him over it until we come to an understanding. Because in the end, God is God, and his decrees are supposed to shape our lives. And our grand purpose, as well as our inner most desire, is to worship him.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 4 & 5

Personal Note: The May birthdays continue. So Happy Birthday to my wonderful daughter, Alyssa. You make your Dad very proud.