Seeking To Understand

SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND

a prayer to open

Here’s my heart, Lord. Speak what is true.

Here’s my life, Lord. Speak what is true.

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!

The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble.

The LORD protects them

and keeps them alive.

He gives them prosperity in the land

and rescues them from their enemies.

The LORD nurses them when they are sick

and restores them to health.

“O LORD,” I prayed, “have mercy on me.

Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.

“How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.

They visit me as if they were my friends,

but all the while they gather gossip,

and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.

All who hate me whisper about me,

imagining the worst. . . .

Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,

the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

LORD, have mercy on me.

Make me well again, so I can pay them back!

I know you are pleased with me,

for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.

You have preserved my life because I am innocent;

you have brought me into your presence forever.

Can we see ourselves in the faces of those we consider poor? That’s the question this psalm seems to ask. Indeed, in large part, our relative wealth or poverty depends upon where we were born, the parents we had, and the opportunities presented to us. For many of us, a sudden illness, job loss, bad decision, or natural disaster could mean we’re suddenly unable to care for ourselves and our families. Yet so often we distance ourselves from those who have less, concluding that we have nothing in common with them and certainly nothing to learn from them. In fact, we are subtly told that we’ve “made it” the more isolated we are from those who have less. How might our lives be shaped if we identified more closely with those who have less than we do, seeking to learn and understand instead of looking down our noses, passing judgment, and creating distance?

• Read this passage again slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase speaks to you? What does it say?
• What barriers exist between you and those who have substantially less? As you reflect on today’s psalm, what invitation do you sense God extending to you related to those who have less than you?
• How might you learn from and seek to understand those who have substantially less? What value do you think that would hold for you as a follower of Jesus?

Lord, thank you for the ways you have blessed and provided for me. I know there are many people in the world who have substantially less than I do. Expand my heart and open my eyes to those around me who you would call me to learn from and seek to understand. I want to love like you do and honor everyone regardless of status or income. Correct me when I attribute more value to the rich and powerful, and remind me that it is only by your grace that I have what I have. Amen.