Psalm Meditation 874
Third Sunday in Lent
March 19, 2017

Psalm 16
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.
7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.
11 You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(NRSV)

There are those who are not content with what they have until they can show everyone else that they have the best. It doesn’t even matter what the category is; these folks need to know that their entry in the category is the winner. Advertisers used to capitalize on this by letting us know that with the right product we could run faster and jump higher. We could set the standard for the neighborhood by having this vehicle parked in our driveway. If only we spent more time and money we could be the best on the block. The drive to have the best still exists though it seems that advertisers may have gotten more subtle through the years.

The psalmist is lifting up Yahweh as the one whose provident care giving is a real blessing. After a one verse dig at all the other religions in the land, the psalmist returns to praise for Yahweh. So, we know that the drive to be and have the best is not something we learned from advertisers. We really do want the best available. And we can’t seem to be content with what makes us happy, we have to compare ourselves to those around us. I made several attempts to read this psalm without the comparison thrown in by verse 4. The psalm reads well without that verse, however I could not bring myself to ignore it. In one verse the psalm goes from a hymn of praise to a sideways-glance-stick-your-tongue-out-at-the-other-folks comparison.

It may well be part of the human condition to compare ourselves to others and find them wanting. What if we could, from time to time, be content. What if we could have a relationship with God that was meaningful, fulfilling and loving in such a way that we didn’t have to look at how my relationship with God compares with yours in a judgy kind of way. What if our comparisons with each other were for the sake of learning from each other rather than gloating over each other.

March 13, 2017
LCM