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Living by Eternal Values
January 14th, 2014
Psalm 37:16-24
Psalm 37 encourages trust in God’s providential care. Experience shows that the actualization of God’s provision is often long delayed. The psalmist reminds us to get our perspective in focus. He is not advocating a “pie in the sky” theology, but he points out the greater value of living in a faithful covenant relation to God rather than having material prosperity while being in alienation from the Creator. If we begrudge the wicked their possessions we are failing to recognize the true meaning of happiness.
As John Wesley emphasized, the Creator intended human beings to be happy and He created their being in such a way that enduring happiness can only be found in a right relation to Him, not in the accumulation of goods.
Saint Augustine captured this truth from his own experience expressed in the famous saying, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless ‘til they find rest in Thee.” Wide experience demonstrates that this innate, God-created “restlessness” can never be satisfied by “stuff.”
Author: H. Ray Dunning
