A Little Bit of Good

Today's psalm tells us that even a modicum of righteousness is worth more than a boatload of unrighteousness….loosely translated. It could also be loosely translated: the smallest kindness is abundantly more valuable than a vault full of anything that is not kind.

Or, as we define the margin in our lives as space for God, a loose translation might read: every moment, every resource, every breath that we dedicate to our Creator transcends every moment filled with busywork, every resource spent on unnecessary stuff, every breath wasted on vanity and worry and fear and what other people might think of us….among other ungodly wastes of our precious God-given peace-of heart-and-mind. 

A bit of margin for God is worth….everything. 

But as we prepare for the birth of our God in the flesh, I wonder how much God we can actually bear in our lives. It is truly a daunting thing, if we are honest. Making room in our lives for the living God is…..or should be (forgive the verboten use of "should") a bit of a terrifying prospect. Because if the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is any indication of what the Living God looks like on earth, in our own lives, we are in for a very…daunting ride. If we are truly to make space for the Living God we are likely to be unpopular, we are likely to be uncomfortable, we are likely to suffer. But, oddly enough, we are also  likely to find more peace and a deeper sense of meaning and belonging, than we have ever known before. 

Making space for the Living God might have a much deeper implication than we expect, in our contemporary culture. For making  space for God always comes at a cost. And when I think of what we are often willing to risk to encounter the Living God, I think of this poem by Wilbur Reese:

$3 Worth of God  

I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, 
not enough to explode my soul 
or disturb my sleep, 
but just enough to equal 
a cup of warm milk or 
a snooze in the sunshine. 
I want ecstasy, 
not transformation; 
I want warmth of the womb, 
not a new birth. 
I want a pound of the Eternal 
in a paper sack. 
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.

Wilbur Rees 

Let us Pray,

Gracious God, let us be willing to pay whatever the cost to make space for you in our lives. Help us to discern the difference between that which we acquire for ourselves and that which is grounded in You, that we might overflow with the smallest kindness, overcome our deepest fear, and overjoy our every moment and encounter. Amen.

Psalm 37:1-18

א  לְדָוִד:  אַל-תִּתְחַר בַּמְּרֵעִים;    אַל-תְּקַנֵּא, בְּעֹשֵׂי עַוְלָה.	1 [A Psalm] of David. Do not fret because of evil-doers, neither be envious against those who are unrighteous.
ב  כִּי כֶחָצִיר, מְהֵרָה יִמָּלוּ;    וּכְיֶרֶק דֶּשֶׁא, יִבּוֹלוּן.	2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, and fade as the green herb.
ג  בְּטַח בַּיהוָה, וַעֲשֵׂה-טוֹב;    שְׁכָן-אֶרֶץ, וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה.	3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and cherish faithfulness.
ד  וְהִתְעַנַּג עַל-יְהוָה;    וְיִתֶּן-לְךָ, מִשְׁאֲלֹת לִבֶּךָ.	4 So shall you delight yourself in the LORD; and God shall give you the wishes of your heart.
ה  גּוֹל עַל-יְהוָה דַּרְכֶּךָ;    וּבְטַח עָלָיו, וְהוּא יַעֲשֶׂה.	5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in Yahweh, and Yahweh will bring it to pass.
ו  וְהוֹצִיא כָאוֹר צִדְקֶךָ;    וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ, כַּצָּהֳרָיִם.	6 And God will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your right as the noonday.
ז  דּוֹם, לַיהוָה--    וְהִתְחוֹלֵל-לוֹ: אַל-תִּתְחַר, בְּמַצְלִיחַ דַּרְכּוֹ;    בְּאִישׁ, עֹשֶׂה מְזִמּוֹת.	7 Give over yourself to the LORD, and wait patiently for Yahweh; fret not because of the one who prospers in his own way, because of the one who brings wicked plans to pass.
ח  הֶרֶף מֵאַף, וַעֲזֹב חֵמָה;    אַל-תִּתְחַר, אַךְ-לְהָרֵעַ.	8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not, it tends only to evil-doing.
ט  כִּי-מְרֵעִים, יִכָּרֵתוּן;    וְקֹוֵי יְהוָה, הֵמָּה יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ.	9 For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those who wait for the LORD, they shall inherit the land.
י  וְעוֹד מְעַט, וְאֵין רָשָׁע;    וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל-מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ.	10 And yet a little while, and the wicked is no more; you shall see his place, and he is not.
יא  וַעֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ;    וְהִתְעַנְּגוּ, עַל-רֹב שָׁלוֹם.	11 But the humble shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
יב  זֹמֵם רָשָׁע, לַצַּדִּיק;    וְחֹרֵק עָלָיו שִׁנָּיו.	12 The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes the kind with unkind teeth.
יג  אֲדֹנָי יִשְׂחַק-לוֹ:    כִּי-רָאָה, כִּי-יָבֹא יוֹמוֹ.	13 The Lord laughs at the wicked; for Yahweh sees that their day is coming.
יד  חֶרֶב, פָּתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים--    וְדָרְכוּ קַשְׁתָּם: לְהַפִּיל, עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן;    לִטְבוֹחַ, יִשְׁרֵי-דָרֶךְ.	14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow; to cast down the poor and needy, to slay the ones who are upright in the way;
טו  חַרְבָּם, תָּבוֹא בְלִבָּם;    וְקַשְּׁתוֹתָם, תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה.	15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
טז  טוֹב-מְעַט, לַצַּדִּיק--    מֵהֲמוֹן, רְשָׁעִים רַבִּים.	16 Better is a little that the righteous have than the abundance of many wicked.
יז  כִּי זְרוֹעוֹת רְשָׁעִים, תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה;    וְסוֹמֵךְ צַדִּיקִים יְהוָה.	17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but the LORD upholds the righteous.
יח  יוֹדֵעַ יְהוָה, יְמֵי תְמִימִם;    וְנַחֲלָתָם, לְעוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה.	18 The LORD knows the days of them that are wholehearted; and their inheritance shall be for ever.