Today’s Scripture Reading (August 29, 2019): Psalm
37
Maya Angelou wrote, “Do the
best until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” The words
are good advice. Too often, we seem tempted to go the other way. We try to
measure our steps with those of other people. And when they don’t measure up,
our temptation is to mirror them, to only do as they have done. They might not
know better, but we who do know better decide actively not to do better,
because the other way looks easier.
Another assumption that we make
is that those around us know better. We actively criticize people for not
living up to our standards when they really just don’t know how. None of us are
perfect. All of us make missteps. All of us fail at some point. Our only hope
is that others will come to our aid and help us move forward. Instead, what
often happens is that people like to kick us when we are down.
The Psalmist encourages us to
do things differently. He stresses that God will make our steps firm. But that
does not mean that we won’t stumble. Even if we are doing our best, sometimes
we will fall short. Sometimes we won’t understand what it is that needed from
us. But even though we stumble, we will not fall. God will hold us up. And
hopefully, so will the people of God. And as a result, as we grow and learn, we
can do even better.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 72
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