A Lesson from Psalm 73

In this psalm, the author is expressing his frustration at the state of affairs in our world. The fact is, ungodly people are often "successful" as the world defines success (money, power, comfort, etc.). He is not saying that these things are wrong in-and-of themselves. There are plenty of examples of Godly people who have money and success⎯this does not make them wicked or ungodly. It's not about the stuff⎯it's about our attitude toward the stuff.

My wife and I have often talked about how it almost makes us sick sometimes to see ungodly people get all the "good things" in life. It seems unfair. That's what the psalmist is talking about⎯this is what he asks God about. The answer he finds is in his attitude⎯in the understanding that all the "stuff" the world uses to define success (money, power, comfort, etc.) is not what truly makes one successful in God's sight. Once we realize and accept this fact, it helps us deal with our unfair world.

This is the lesson of the psalm: that our perspective should be the same as God's, not the people of this world. The lesson of the psalm is not that we should feel bad about having nice things, or about having the time to spend with our families. Again, it's not about the stuff⎯it's about our attitudes, our perspective.

Do we hold our stuff "loosely"⎯knowing that God has blessed us, but that our stuff doesn't make us who we are? Are we generous with our stuff? Do we place a higher priority on Godly things like family, church, love, etc.? This is the attitude God wants from us. The amount of stuff or success we have in life isn't all that important to God. It's what we do with it.