Psalm Meditation 1228 ¶First Sunday After Christmas ¶December 31, 2023 ¶Psalm 82 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+82&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶We do like to get the good things we deserve almost as much as we enjoy deciding why it is that ‘those’ people don’t really deserve any good things. If they do get them, it is a fluke, an injustice, a travesty. Of course, no one deserves good things as much as we do because we are the faithful, and righteous. According to the biblical texts we follow, we have earned all the good things and none of the bad things going around these days. It is kinda sad that so many people outside of our group would even consider getting all of our good things. ¶Except that the psalmist reminds us that God doesn’t judge, reward, or punish according to our standards. God has a bias for the weak, the orphan, the lowly, and the destitute. They are aware that they do no deserve any good things, so they are grateful for every good thing that comes their way. It isn’t being on the outside of ‘polite’ society that gets them any of the good things, it is the gratitude. Being grateful opens our hearts and minds to see other things for which we can be grateful and allows us to become more deeply grateful for all that we do have. ¶Entitlement breeds entitlement and gratitude breeds gratitude. We can walk through our lives in the fog of entitlement, always knowing that we deserve more of the good things and less of the bad things that come our way. Or we can walk in the light of gratitude knowing that it is not about earning or deserving anything we get, it is about being grateful to God and those around us for the good things. It is also about being grateful for the support we can give and get from each other in the rough times. ¶December 26, 2023 ¶LCM