Psalm 52 again
addresses the evil of the love of money.
Too often people in positions of wealth and power use that wealth and
power to oppress the weaker. The Psalmist
here calls that evil. He says that those
boast of their wealth and power are boasting of evil. He says that this evil leads people to be deceitful
and to lie. These things are not
pleasing to God. When we make other
things our refuge rather than God, the path leads to destruction. It is easy though to try to escape into other
things as our refuge. Money, material
possessions, Facebook, video games, shopping, alcohol, drugs are among those
things where we find ourselves seeking refuge.
Many of those things by themselves are not evil, in fact they can be
used for good. However, when we escape
into them, seeking refuge in them, we have put ourselves on a path of
destruction.
The Psalmist is
clear that the righteous person finds their refuge in God. When we need to escape from the troubles of
this world, we need to find our refuge with God. We can find that refuge in many forms. We find in in the written word. We find it in music. We find it in prayer. We find it in friends.
In the final verses
the psalmist compares himself to “a green olive tree” in God’s house. An olive tree is an evergreen. Its leaves do not die and fall off. It is green year round. The psalmist is saying that he is a permanent
fixture in God’s house. It is in God’s
house with his community of believers that he finds hope and refuge.
We live in an age
where people have become mistrustful of the church and unfortunately that comes
sometimes with good reason. The church
is made up of flawed human beings and like any family, it can become
messy. We have to continually work at
making the church, God’s House, a place of safety and refuge. We must be a community where people can come
and find hope, love and a safe place to call home.
Where are you
finding God in Community? Search for
that today. Do not delay. Find refuge there.
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