GOD SONGS, PART 1: TRUE PERSPECTIVE

Psalm 73 (NASB)
David Bruce Linn, Pastor-Teacher
22 October 2006
All Rights Reserved

Truth provides the framework for all decisions. To the extent that believers in Christ have a grip on God's truth we make wise, healthy, holy decisions. When we have a true perspective we see things as they really are and we do what we know is right.

But sometimes we don't. I know a man who was an engineer with a drinking problem. The Lord delivered him most wonderfully from that pit and set his feet upon the rock. Then the Lord called him into ministry, and he responded. For decades he did the very difficult work of city rescue mission ministry. As he approached the time of his retirement he prepared another to take his place in an orderly transfer of responsibility. Shortly after he was out of that ministry he went public with the news that he had decided to leave his wife and live as a woman instead of a man. He had a grip on the truth but then he lost it. I do not tell his story to condemn him but simply to point out that our grip on the framework of God's truth will determine the decisions we make.

I know of two men who had done tremendous work for Christ as co-hosts of Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast. For years they interviewed the best Christian minds on the subjects of marriage and family, yet both of these men chose to initiate extramarital affairs. They are no longer with that ministry. The list of renowned Christian musicians who have made the same foolish decision continues to grow. While writing intensely personal songs about Christian truth and living they somehow lose perspective.

Again I say that I do not mention these people to condemn them. The chilling question is that if such people can lose a true perspective, are any of us immune? These are examples of mature Christians who spent all day meditating on the truth of God and working it into their ministries, who taught many people about Christ, yet they made life decisions which were diametrically opposed to that truth.

I went on a trip to visit a pastor friend to rest and recharge my spiritual batteries some years ago. Jesus did it. Paul did it. Why shouldn't I? Part of the purpose is to regain perspective, to restore the weight of the word of God in our lives. My friend and I traveled all over looking at sights and talking over every aspect of ministry. At one point my friend said to me that he was thinking about trying a cigar. That thought immediately became a verbal football we kicked for days. I would say: "You want one? I'm thinking of having one." He would say "Nyahh." Then he would bring it up again and I would say "Nahh. I don't think I want to." We, of course, never did. It became a joke. The very fact that we would even consider it reveals some loss of perspective, as if a smelly cigar held some deep satisfaction which we had been denied.

But if you are a Christian and you still have a pulse, you know what I am talking about because you have been there. You know that there are times when you think of doing the unthinkable, things which are outside the framework of God's truth, things you know you should not do. But the pressures of life with its losses, the sorrows wrought by other people, disease, broken relationships, financial struggles, and just the fight to keep breathing in and out make the framework of truth recede from our view. Theoretically we know it is there, but sometimes we let its grip on us loosen in the teeth of strong feelings and wayward thoughts. And when we lose our perspective on truth literally anything can happen--and often does.

1. LOSING OUR GRIP

Psalm 73, a psalm of Asaph, records the thoughts of a man who was probably a Levite, well-acquainted with the temple and the Torah. His psalm is about the loss of perspective on the truth and his return to it. He begins with a summary of the obvious point of God's truth: "Surely God is good to Israel, /To those who are pure in heart!" (Psalm 73:1). The psalmist is aware of God's blessing on the nation Israel, and his specific blessing on those who seek the Lord from a pure heart.

But this is the story of losing that straightforward view: "But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, /My steps had almost slipped. /For I was envious of the arrogant /As I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (Psalm 73:2-3). Holiness is harder! Holiness is more expensive. Holiness offers fewer fleshly indulgences than cutting corners with truth. And one way the loss of perspective is revealed is the way the indulgent people inflate before our eyes: "For there are no pains in their death, /And their body is fat. /They are not in trouble as other men, /Nor are they plagued like mankind. /Therefore pride is their necklace; /The garment of violence covers them. /Their eye bulges from fatness; /The imaginations of their heart run riot. /They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; /They speak from on high. /They have set their mouth against the heavens, /And their tongue parades through the earth" (Psalm 73:4-9). The psalmist is saying that from his point of view these people are getting away with murder. They say whatever they want, and they seem to be getting all the good stuff.

But is that true? Of course not. He said so at the beginning of the psalm. What the psalmist gives us is a frighteningly accurate view of a believer's loss of perspective. This is a common failing of those who have trusted the Lord for a long time. Dr. Dobson calls it the challenge of living the straight life. And when the temporary loss of perspective is on us we see those who reject God the way they do: "Therefore his people return to this place, /And waters of abundance are drunk by them. /They say, 'How does God know? /And is there knowledge with the Most High?' /Behold, these are the wicked; /And always at ease, they have increased in wealth" (Psalm 73:10-12).

But it is a terrible deception! The actor Rock Hudson was a manly-looking man who sold his sex appeal both to men and to women who flocked to see his films. He was notorious for not being able to remember his lines but he was dashing, and he became both rich and famous. Yet he was actually a homosexual who died a long, slow, painful death from AIDS. We would not wish such a death on anyone. My point is that he presented himself to the world the way he wanted us to see him and the reality was very different. When believers lose perspective we begin to see people according to the deceptions they foster rather than the way God sees them. The psalmist saw people flocking around the wicked, rolling in abundance, openly mocking God, and living at ease. Were they really? No, he just had a terrible loss of perspective which occasionally happens to those who live the straight life: "Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure /And washed my hands in innocence; /For I have been stricken all day long /And chastened every morning" (Psalm 73:13-14).

2. FAITH AFFIRMATIONS WHICH RESTORE PERSPECTIVE

It is vital that every believer know that we do not just automatically snap out of a loss of truth perspective. If we are passive about our dangerous condition we may very well spiral downward out of control. The second half of this psalm shows how our perspective can be maintained and restored when it is lost by embracing a set of faith affirmations.

The psalmist starts by remembering how his spiritual condition affected other believers: "If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' /Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children" (Psalm 73:15). Remembering is not passive. It is the action of a responsible soul. Just as the wicked cause people to rally to them and their bad thoughts and behavior, the out-of-whack believer influences other people to go out of whack. In view are not so much young children as God's children, meaning anyone relying upon God with a childlike faith. The psalmist is dreadfully frank with us. If we moan and spit that our walk with Christ has been a waste we are betraying Christ and other people. Active remembering prevents this.

Secondly, the psalmist embraced the corporate worship of God's people: "When I pondered to understand this, /It was troublesome in my sight /Until I came into the sanctuary of God; /Then I perceived their end" (Psalm 73:16-17). Even when he did not feel worshipful the psalmist made a decision of naked faith to show up for worship. When he did, a huge crack opened in the deception under which he had labored about the seeming success of the wicked, and the light of God revealed truth to him.

Some years ago my wife and I were on vacation and went to a thriving church for worship. I chatted with the pastor afterward and he remarked: "If you are on vacation why would you want to be around Christians?" The answer is simple. It restores my soul to worship God in the company of the redeemed. God blesses me, he switches on the light of truth for me, and he reorients things in my soul which are out of whack.

Thirdly, the psalmist affirmed by faith the destiny of the God-rejectors who seemed to be doing so well: "Surely You set them in slippery places; /You cast them down to destruction. /How they are destroyed in a moment! /They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! /Like a dream when one awakes, /O Lord, when aroused, /You will despise their form..../For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; /You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You" (Psalm 73:18-20, 27).

There is a recognition that even in the earthly sense the wicked--even if they are rich--suffer more than they will admit. Their earthly lives are as precarious as those of anyone else. There was a handsome young actor a few years ago who was a rising star in action films. While filming one day he decided to play with the gun prop he was using. As a joke he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger thinking that it could not do any harm. Actually, prop guns are usually real guns with full-charge blank loads in real cartridges. The pressure from the blast fractured off a piece of his skull and drove it into his brain, killing him. Please understand that I am not saying that he was wicked, but his success did not make his life less precarious.

Worse than the precariousness of the earthly lives of the wicked is the certain disaster they face at the judgment: "those who are far from [God] will perish." No one will be able to craft such a successful life that they will be able to avoid facing God at the end if it, but many think they are doing it. We must be sure that we see people from God's perspective, not their own.

Fourthly, the psalmist openly admitted his spiritual obtuseness when he was envying the lost: "When my heart was embittered /And I was pierced within, /Then I was senseless and ignorant; /I was like a beast before You" (Psalm 73:21-22). The regaining of true perspective allows us to see what we are really like when we are busy thinking well of people who are headed for destruction. The word "senseless" is also translated "foolish" and "brutish."

When you are on an ambulance crew the worst thing you can hear is that a patient is unresponsive. It is the sign of deep medical trouble. The unconscious person may be bleeding out or already dead. The word "unresponsive" generates a coordinated action by the emergency medical technicians to assess the patient and begin an intervention. That is how God sees us when we are unresponsive to him. For God, apathy toward worship, Bible study, prayer, sharing our faith, fellowship, and helping others represents a spiritual emergency.

The term "beast" is often a reference to cattle. Have you looked into a cow's eyes lately? They are like dreamy deep pools of...nothing. A cow can stand all day in the same place without being bored or thinking: "I really should be doing something." When our perspective on truth gets drawn into the deception of the wicked we become like cattle toward God.

Fifthly, the psalmist re-established his moment-by-moment connection with the presence of God in fellowship with him: "Nevertheless I am continually with You; /You have taken hold of my right hand" (Psalm 73:23). Living in the presence of God is an experience, but it is an experience we will never have unless we practice it. If we have received Christ our connection with God is real. We are in him and he is in us. Then why don't we always feel his presence? Because we have to practice it thoughtfully with determination. When we allow ourselves to get sucked into the lie that the unrighteous really are the smart people we will feel as if God is not with us at all. If we dive into some indulgence we will find our deception confirmed: "Yeah, God isn't really there for me anyway."

As we wrestle through the situations of daily life we must ask every time: What is God's role in this? The psalmist says that God was holding his hand. He's holding yours and mine also if we are in Christ. Recently there was a horrible mass murder suicide in an Amish schoolhouse. There was no sense to it. Yet the Amish affirmed throughout their response that God is holding their hand. They invited relatives of the murderer to the funeral for the children. They affirmed that even in this horrible situation God had not left them. They have a true perspective.

Sixthly, the psalmist affirmed the guidance of God in his life and the good result of following it: "With Your counsel You will guide me, /And afterward receive me to glory" (Psalm 73:24). Where is the counsel of God found? All that is necessary to know about God's counsel for life and godliness is found in the Bible, God's word to mankind. He may give immediate guidance about whether to buy a white car or a green car, but I suspect that he does not care about many decisions over which we agonize. It is obvious that the only way to build a truth perspective from God's point of view is to be determined students of God's word.

Seventh, last, and most important, the psalmist affirmed by faith that God was his most valuable possession both on earth and in heaven. Whatever immediate lacks the psalmist may have had, God's very person was the provision which overtopped everything: "Whom have I in heaven but You? /And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. /My flesh and my heart may fail, /But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever..../But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; /I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, /That I may tell of all Your works" (Psalm 73:25-26, 28).

In the moment when you and I look within and say: I got nothin', God says You have me and I am all you need. What earthly difficulty can this reality not overcome? Paul wrote: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31).

I do not say that this understanding is easy to achieve. It is the fruit of forcing the divine truth perspective down over our foolish assumption that we are all we have. It is a gracious gift from God to see our spiritual bankruptcy. I pray for all of us to come to that crisis point: "If I am all I have, it is it not enough!"

One year I was at our Annual Council and there was a very powerful message preached about I can't remember what. But God struck me so powerfully with a sense of my emptiness that I felt like my insides had been sucked out through a hose. I went down to the front to pray. A man came over to pray with me and asked me some questions. I told him how utterly empty I felt. I expected him to commiserate with me, rub my back, and say a mournful prayer for me. Instead he said: "That's great! You have a wonderful opportunity!" After I was done being taken aback I realized that he was right.

So, like the psalmist, I have made the Lord my refuge. Have you? Jesus Christ has opened a door for everyone who will trust him. If we confess our sins he will forgive us. If you are already a believer, I ask you if you have come to the understanding that no matter what you are going through that God is enough. He is.

When that crazy desire for a sex change operation is upon you, or the desire for a sexual fling, or the indulgence of a drug, or a dive into filthy entertainment, or the purchase of some extravagance you cannot afford, then you must force yourself back into true perspective by making these faith affirmations. God is enough. You must run to him. Your emotions will argue with you, the world will argue with you, and the devil himself will argue with your effort to restore your fellowship with God through Christ.

But the more we who believe practice God's presence by embracing the divine truth perspective the more we will live above the crazy desires which rob us of our joy in the Lord. I'm tired of being robbed of the joy that is my birthright in Christ. Aren't you?