Psalm 73

“Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” Psalm 73:12-17 (NKJV)

When I lived in Southern California, my wife and I used to frequent a shopping area in Newport Beach called "Fashion Island."  Just driving into the parking lot of this high-end mall was an event.  Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, Rolls Royce, and Bentleys were as commonplace as Toyotas and Chevys in the average American shopping center.  I admit it would have been easy to absorb myself into a culture like that.  And since we’re being honest, we all struggle with “affluenza” (chronic affluence attraction)!  My wife and I would ask each other, “Who makes that kind of money…and why can’t we do THAT for a living?”  

The problem is that we do not exist in order to fulfill our fleshly longings continually.  We exist in order to know God and make Him known.  Yes, we live pedestrian lives; we work jobs and raise families alongside everyone else in our culture.  But we Christians are called primarily to advance the Kingdom of God within the context of our respective cultures.  Ask yourself, are you influencing your culture, or is your culture influencing you?  If you feel the burden of “keeping up with the Joneses,” you are not alone.  Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, felt the same pressure.  And it almost did him in.  It was not until he separated himself from the culture of affluence and indulgence and visited the Lord in His temple that Asaph re-awakened to his purpose in life: Seek to know God and work to ensure his generation and the next, would seek the Lord, as well.   That is our purpose in life!

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10 (NKJV)

“Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” 1 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV)

“For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.” Psalm 73:27-28 (NKJV)