I don’t know if you remember what Solomon, the wisest man in the world stressed about his life. In reality, Israel’s famed and wise king shocks his readers when he says: In spite of everything that he had learned, done, possessed and achieved, Solomon hated life. He states in Ecclesiastes that life is empty and meaningless without God. Yes, the wisest, richest and most powerful man of his time, who also had 1,000 wives and concubines for his pleasure, said that everything the world had to offer-pleasures, possessions and power none of it brought fulfillment. His life was empty and meaningless because he had forsaken and ignored God.
Here in Psalm 127 Solomon echoes the message of Ecclesiastes which basically highlights three major priorities in most men’s lives:
- building a house or family,
- protecting your family and your community
- working to provide for the family
When we check out history this psalm was written as the remnant returned back to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild their city and their society. This song now - remember the 150 Psalms in the Bile were Israel’s hymnbook. These songs strengthened their resolve to make the Lord the foundation of their lives, their homes, and their nation. Without God’s blessing, their best efforts would all be in vain.
Take a look at life today. For the most part, men and women today still spend their lives building homes and families, protecting them, and working to provide for them. But at the end of the day, a good number of them feel empty inside. Try talking to people and listen to what they say. In time, their marriages crumble, their families fall apart and everything they have worked for vanishes. Why? Because they have left God out of it all. They have a weak foundation, a weak defense system and absolutely no satisfaction. We forget that the sin we have since we were born in sin- it has to be dealt with.
I know most people do not want to admit that they have a sin nature. I have heard it over and over: I am a good person, I give to the poor, I did not murder anyone, etc. etc. but let me give you an illustration that describes our sin nature.
Imagine you are at the pool and there is a beach ball in the water. You could keep it under the water as long as you sit on it. But suddenly it pops up to the surface again. Even if you have two or three people trying to keep it under, you can only hold it down so long before it comes back up. That’s the way people often fight sin. They say, “I’m not going to do this anymore. I don’t like this. I’m against it.” And they put it down in their minds, but then it just comes to the surface again. And they are fighting a hopeless battle.
Let me tell you one way to keep that ball sunk. Let the air out of it. You need to let the air out of Satan’s lies too. One way is to remove temptations. This is also a way to help others avoid sin. Ultimately there is absolutely nothing you can do to keep your kids from sin because God gave them a will. But I’ll tell you one thing I don’t want to do: I don’t want to build a home that is dangerous for children. If they want to climb over the wall and jump off, that will break my heart. I don’t want to have the kind of home where they fall accidentally because I have not removed the temptations from that home. Do you understand what I am saying? You need to at least build the wall. Teach your children, grandchildren and even great- grandchildren about Jesus Christ and what He did for them on that Cross.
Pray and repent and surrender your will and your desires to Our Lord.
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