Psalm 73
Even though the historical record, irrefutable evidence and common sense, all harmoniously indicate that this Psalm was written before the internet ever existed... After extensive study of this Psalm, I believe the author, whose name was Asaph, possessed a Facebook account. Either that or technology has changed, cultures have changed, times have changed, but humanity.... 'ehhh' not so much has changed.
I don't mean to pick on Facebook, I realize some of you don't know what Facebook is, and that's fine, that's probably for the better. Perhaps it was some other form of social media: Insta-grammies, Tweeter, or slap-chat. My point is: Whatever you see or hear on social media is not the whole story. It may not even be the true story. The source of the posts on social media are people (or robots), and unfortunately, people have a tendency to misrepresent reality, or at best, communicate only a partial reality. (And Robots just do what they are programmed to do by people.)
This is the slippery slope Asaph found himself on. In verse two he says, "my feet almost slipped... for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."
I can picture Asaph, scrolling down his Facebook Newsfeed, and post after post was people bragging about their promotion at work, their winning lottery ticket, their new wheels, their hot-date, their front row seats at the Bulldogs game, their fancy dinner. And he says to himself, "Self, you're a good and honest man. You work hard, keep your nose clean, maintain your integrity, treat others with respect, go to church, and here you are, eating cream of wheat while your evil neighbor is feasting on bovine and spuds (that's steak and potatoes)."
So, if Asaph was a Facebook user, and I believe he was, he was looking at all the posts that the wicked people had made. Pictures of vacations, pictures of rich food, pictures of success and accomplishment, of youthfulness and vigor. Then he reads what one of them wrote, it's the dumbest commentary on current events he ever heard in his life, and yet, they received 500 likes, 50 retweets, 70 new followers, 400,000 new "MyFace" friends, and their launching a You-tube channel. It all seems surreal, and it all seems so un-fair.
These wicked folks have no struggles (vs 4), they are healthy and strong, The problems most people face, they don't face (vs 5), they are proud, violent, wicked, evil (vs 6-7), Verse 8: they are bullies. They use their popularity, their power, their position to force other people to be or to do what they don't want to be or do. They speak boastfully (vs 9), and verse 10 lets us know that they have more facebook friends, more followers, more subscribers, more reddit readers than poor Asaph. They mock God, deny Him, and they become more and more wealthy (vs 11-12).
Have you ever been there? I wonder if you have you have ever felt like Asaph? "Look how the wicked prosper!" "Look at how these bad people get all the breaks!" "Look how that dishonest person got the promotion!" "Look at how much fun they are having and how carefree their life is." "Look how popular they are!" "Look at their health and attractiveness!" So Asaph "envied the arrogant" when he saw how the wicked prospered.
That's when he closed his web browser. Turned off his tablet (which back in those days was made of stone). Sheathed his Smart Phone, and began to reexamine his life decision to be pure. To be honest. To be thoughtful of others and compassionate. He looked at the scoreboard and felt he was losing and perhaps he had chosen the wrong team.
So many young people here today, and I hope you're listening. If you made a decision to follow Christ, I pray you stick with Him. No doubt there's pressure to give up godliness and trade it in for filth, you aren't the only ones thus tempted, the Psalmist, with or without social media, saw the prosperity of his peers that lived loosely, and he envied them. They were allowed to sleep in on Sunday mornings. I was one of those that had a drug problem when I was growing up. My parents drug me to church. As early as sixth grade I worked nights every other weekend, would get home at 7:30 AM Sunday morning, and had to be up at 8 to go to church. I was in the choir and tried not to nod off, but I was drug to church. So glad I was. Wasn't then, I am now.
Asaph went beyond just envying the wicked. (But before we get to that I want you to be understanding. If I misread this part of the text it is because this chapter of my Bible is stained with blood. Friday night a mosquito thought he would find safety by landing on my Bible, but what he found was judgment. He didn't realize I was a Bible-Thumper, and when I saw him on my Bible I thumped it. Then I looked at the mess and regretted it. Then I dampened a cloth and it cleaned up nicely, so I no longer regret it. Some preachers chase rabbits, I chase mosquitoes.)
Asaph spends the next few verses questioning whether he made a good life choice by pursuing God and forsaking evil. In verse 13 he declares that he has been foolish to choose God over sin. It hasn't seemed to have paid off. In verse 14 he declares his social media addiction. All day long he was plagued? All day long he received notifications of new posts by the wicked. Each one adding more fuel to fire. Every morning he would drink coffee and see the Slap-chats from the party the night before, the party that he wasn't invited to attend.
The man was wrecked by social media. A partial glimpse of life, a partial understanding of reality... and it plagued him. But one thing he did. And it is tremendously good advice for many people, and I myself often want to give out this advice, but I don't often do it, and we find it in verse 15: He kept his mouth shut. He resisted the temptation to comment on the posts of others, or to click the "thumb-down" button. He struggled with the "unfairness" of life (vs 16), the wicked prospering and him... not so much. But rather than go on a rant, or try and justify apparent injustice, he goes to church. Not to talk with the preacher, but to hear from God Himself.
Perhaps he didn't hear a single word of the sermon that day. (That's fine, I wasn't the one preaching:-) Actually, there wasn't a preacher that day. As he enters the sanctuary he realizes that there is a Loving God who is also Just and Righteous. Any "unfairness" would not endure forever. It is, in fact, temporary, and an evidence of the patience of the Almighty. (That was in last weeks sermon.)
You see, times change, cultures change, technologies change, but humanity doesn't change so much. Humanity 'likes' friends. Humanity 'likes' success. Humanity 'likes' good things and blessings and health and promotions (if they come with a pay-raise). Asaph was human. And it is human to desire the good things that he saw others acquire.
That which distracted him: was all the good stuff on their timeline. What he failed to consider was the end of their timeline. You won't find that on Facebook. People don't tweet from beyond the grave. There are no selfy-sticks in hell. But do not be mistaken, it is a dreadful thing to die in your sin.
Judgment only appears to be far off (vs 18) but the reality is the foothold of the wicked is treacherously slippery, and in an instant that small thread that suspends them above the flames of hell could give way. They walk as if on a highway, not on a mountain ledge. Comfort, pleasure, the high life, the fat of the land, popularity, friends, a disregard for the All-Seeing, All-Knowing God. But (vs 19) sudden, unexpected destruction awaits, like a devouring lion crouched in the tranquil grass of an African Plain.
It was a social media fantasy (vs 20). To pursue "good things" through impurity, vileness, filth, without compassion or love, apart from God's Law and God's nature, is temporary fantasy. A dream from which one will suddenly awake and the entire reality is made plain. The words Asaph uses is, "ruin" "Destroyed" "Terrors" "despised". Hardly a happy ending.
Haven't we all been there? Looking at others with a "Social Media" point of view, perhaps jealous of their prosperity, popularity, the good times they have, and the apparent lack of consequences for selfishness, bullying, dishonesty, and greed? Then we wonder if it is even worth it to serve Jesus. Why the headache? Why do ills befall us? Why are we counted as "sheep to be slaughtered all the day long?" Why does it appear that wickedness is rewarded and righteousness is scorned?
Perhaps it was in this moment for Asaph, when he was bitter in his spirit and grieved in his heart (vs 21), there in the presence of the Lord, he came to His senses, and God reminded him that the Facebook Timeline is never the whole story.
With his senses now keen to the whole reality, he declared that the wicked have their joys above and beyond his, perhaps, but he has his own special "Tweets" to enjoy. (It wasn't until I became a grandfather that I learned the difference between a "Snack" and a "Tweet." A Snack is like: carrots and celery. A Tweet is like a brownie or a cupcake. (That's according to my wife, you can question her if you like, I wouldn't dare.))
Asaph had some "Tweets" of his own: God is always with him (vs 23), God will always guide him - through the valleys and over the mountains, through the joys and the sorrows, and Asaph's timeline ends with being together with God in glory (vs 24).
What is there on the earth that lasts anyway? What is it on earth that satisfies? (Vs 25). How many rich, powerful, popular people are empty, depressed and without hope? Asaph declares there's nothing on earth I desire and there's only One in heaven that can take me to where He is.
My body may wear out (vs 26), and go the way that all earthly bodies go, but "this I have!" A future, for God is my portion forever.
The end of the wicked is not desirable. The cost they will pay for their evil schemes is not worth it (vs 27). But the "tweets" that the righteous enjoy now, and the "tweets" still to come makes it worth it to pursue purity, and holiness, and godliness, and God. That's what makes sense. That's what is logical. That's what is worth pursuing, and the Psalmist admits (vs 22) that he had a moment of 'senselessness' and was thinking on the level of cattle, not of a sound mind, when he was considering giving up on God and pursuing wickedness instead. Pleasure for a season, but hardly a happy ending. If the Facebook Timeline was all there was, fine, but it never contains the whole reality.
Times change, technologies change, cultures change, but humanity... ehhh, not so much.
The very thing that Asaph was tempted to do, when his "feet had almost slipped" and he had "nearly lost (his) foothold" (Vs 2). It is the same temptation we might also face from time to time.
We observe the posts of the wicked. We see their apparent freedom, pleasures, prosperity, wealth, power, popularity and those things are just common "likes" of humanity. But pursuing such things by casting aside purity, love, holiness and godliness is too great a cost to pay. The bible admits that there are "pleasures in sin for a season." But the key is "for a season." The timeline of the wicked ends in an unpleasant way.
The righteous may be limited by love, their walk may require a more narrow path and self-sacrifice, but there is a benefit to walking hand in hand with God. And there is a benefit to belonging to Him forever and ever.
The conclusion of the matter is this, verse 1. "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart."
The world treats the wicked well. The world treats dishonesty and rudeness and bullies with temporary rewards of prosperity, power, and popularity. But God is good to the pure in heart.
I'm not a big social media fan. I find that most people post partial truths and clog the internet with half-witted opinions. So that's why the "unfollow" button was created. It allows you to filter out the non-sense from those who deliver it most frequently. It reduces the clutter and confusion and helps you maintain a healthier blood pressure while reading.
By the grace of God I will never "unfollow" Jesus. He is the One to follow. Don't become distracted by the perceived pleasures of sin and wickedness, don't become blinded by posts, pictures, tweets and slap-chats that try to entice you to "unfollow" Jesus and follow wickedness. Don't think like cattle, think like a man, woman, or young person that has some sense.
Walk with God. Pursue purity all the days of your life. And spend an eternity with the God who is good to Israel, and to those who are pure in heart.
God has already posted the last chapter of the book in the history of mankind. His profile has been made public. You can access His page in the Bible set before you. It's worth it to follow His roadmap. "Tweets" in this life, and "Tweets" still to come. God is the One to Follow. Christ is the One to Pursue.
Your testimony needs to be (vs 28), "... As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."
