A Proud Heart

 April 23, 2021

Pastor Joe read Psalm 131 for this morning’s online devotional, telling people in the process that it’s my favorite psalm. It is, and his meditation got me to thinking. One of the reasons it’s my favorite is that it’s short and therefore, easy to memorize. At my age, I’ll take any advantage I can get. Here it is in it’s entirety:

“My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; 

I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 

But I have calmed and quieted myself, 

I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 

Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”

Psalms 131:1-3 NIV

The key to this psalm is the verb tense in verse 3. “Surely I HAVE quieted my soul.” Before thinking about great matters, he quieted his soul before God. No matter how compelling it might be, I cannot start the day with the news, or my soul will spend the entire day playing catch up with God. Too often, I get things out of order. Instead of starting the day quieting my soul in the presence of the LORD, I concern myself with things beyond me, reading the news or thinking about all the craziness in the world today. Now wonder there is so much anger and anxiety, when we stay glued to the news all day long.

One of the mistakes we make in our life of faith is when we fail to distinguish between what God does in and for us, and what he intends for us to do ourselves. Verse 2 begins, “I have quieted my soul.” He doesn’t expect God to settle him; it is his own responsibility. We want God to give us peace, to calm us down when we feel anxious, but the Bible here tells us it is something we need to do ourselves. The only way I know to calm down is to slow down. We cannot quiet our souls when we’re in a hurry. It takes time for the soul to settle, to breathe deeply of the atmosphere of heaven. If all I give God is a few quick minutes before I rush into the day, it isn’t God’s fault if the matters of life overwhelm me.

One of the lessons I learned when i began my journey of gratitude is how hard it was to detach myself from political and social ruminations. It felt as if I were shirking my duty when I didn’t respond to a Facebook post, but over time, I learned that in social media, we’re preaching to the choir, and no one’s mind gets changed because I came up with a witty response to some of the crazy stuff people put out. It’s a matter of pride. The psalm begins by saying, “My heart is not proud,” but what else is it when we think it’s our responsibility to change someone’s mind, especially when it’s someone we’ve never even met? Fixating on the issues of the day only serves to secure pride in my heart while it keeps us from our proper focus in the presence of Christ. I am thankful tonight for this short psalm that helps me keep grounded in the presence of the Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.