Caryn Rivadeneira 0:07
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the word of God. It's Thursday, July 28 and Sunday's coming. This is Caryn Rivadeneira and I serve as Director of Care and Worship Planning. Today, I'll be reading Psalm 49, verse 5.
Caryn Rivadeneira 0:21
Why should I fear when evil days come when wicked deceivers surround me?
Caryn Rivadeneira 0:26
I love the simplicity of this question. It offers such comfort when we're in tough times, or during so called evil days, as the psalmist calls them. And indeed, why should we fear? No matter what happens, no matter what life throws at us, no matter how evil threatens to disrupt or how those around us seek to deceive us with wickedness - we know that we are loved, known and held by the God of the universe. There is nothing God cannot redeem or restore. Even if the worst happens, we believe Jesus has defeated death and hell, and that one day, all things will be made right. Let's take a moment to thank God for that.
Caryn Rivadeneira 1:07
And yet, I'm struck by the following verse. I didn't include it in the summer prayer guide, and now I'm wondering why? Because when you read this verse alone, it allows our minds to imagine that wickedness of the folks in question - and yet, verse 6 tells us the wicked sorts that the psalmist had in mind. If you listened to Kyle's devotion yesterday, you already know who those folks are. The wicked are those who trust in their riches and boast of great wealth. Yikes. Suddenly, those wicked folks are sounding a lot more familiar. Now, I like to think that I don't boast of any great wealth, but then I wonder: does my Instagram feed back me up on this? And I know for sure, I absolutely do trust enriches. After all, when the bank account numbers go a little lower than I like, I get nervous. Now I need to clarify: by Western suburb, Elmhurst CRC standards, I am not rich. But by global and historic standards, I am off the charts wealthy! Richer than King Solomon most likely, and probably, so are you. And so this verse takes a turn. No longer do I need to worry so much about the wicked deceivers around me, I have to worry about the wicked deceiver IN me.
Caryn Rivadeneira 2:28
In summer, there is so much wicked deceiving. We feel envious if we can't afford the same thing or same time away that others get. We worry about overspending or upcoming bills. Or conversely, we feel #blessed by God, because of the riches we have and get to enjoy. All of this can lead to the great deception that it's money that we should trust. Isn't it funny how our actual money tells us otherwise? And this is nothing short of wickedness - at least according to the Psalm, and later, according to Jesus. And yet, trusting in money and even boasting about money to some extent, are such acceptable sins among us. Seems like we might need to work on that.
Caryn Rivadeneira 3:12
So if you - like me - realize you trust in money too much, go back to that original question asked in this passage. Why should we fear when evil days come? What fear is driving our love and trust of money? What fear causes us to boast and become wicked deceivers? During the day today, I invite you to join me in thinking about that. Let's ask the Spirit to bring those fears to mind and talk to God about those fears. Ask God to help us trust in God, not in stuff, and to rely on God's power, not the power of money.