February 10, 2008

Sermon: "Happy Are They..."

Scripture: Psalm 32

Reverend Larry M. Gerber

Advertising tells us there's a pill for just about everything these days. Do we need more pills or just more will?

Pill or Will, there is a way to take care of every problem, as we can see in the following story:

 A priest from Ireland was assigned to a Texas diocese.
>
> One morning, Father O'Malley rose from his bed. It was
> a fine spring Day in his new Texas mission parish. He
> walked to the window of his bedroom to get a deep
> breath of the beautiful day outside. He then noticed
> there was a jackass lying dead in the middle of his
> front lawn. He promptly called the local police
> station The conversation went like this:
>
> "Good morning, this is Sergeant Jones, how might I
> help you?"
>
> "And the best of the day te yerself. This is Father
> O'Malley at St. Brigid's . There's a jackass lying
> dead in me front lawn. Would ye be so kind as to send
> a couple O yer lads to take care of the matter?"
>
> Sergeant Jones, considering himself to be quite a wit,
> replied with a smirk, "Well now Father, it was always
> my impression that you people took care of last
> rites!"
>
> There was dead silence on the line for a long moment.
>
> Father O'Malley then replied: "Aye, 'tis certainly
> true, but we are also obliged to notify the next of
> kin."

Psalm 32 begins by defining spiritual health: "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" and those "in whose spirit there is no deceit" (vv. 1-2).

It's safe to say that our culture is not obsessed with its spiritual health. Granted, we're really into angels, and the supernatural, and stuff. But our own spiritual health? Next subject.

We are, however, quite interested in our physical health. Witness the pharmaceutical culture we live in. We can't turn on the TV without discovering to our amazement that there's a new syndrome or disease or ache or ailment out there to avoid or be aware of.

So before diving into Psalm 32, linger over what's happening in our culture right now, and then turn to the psalm to see what the Bible says about how to be spiritually healthy.

Here's some stuff that is going on in the pharmageddon we've created in this world we live in now. You're watching television, as we said, and you see all these ads featuring happy and attractive people walking in the woods, mountain biking, sitting in bathtubs and throwing footballs through tires because they took a pill that made it all possible. Want to lose weight, get more sleep, get stronger, or deal with an embarrassing social disease? Just ask your doctor, pop the pill, and relax. Call it "better living through chemistry."

It's certainly true that many of these advances in medical science have made a difference in the quality of life for many people. Pills that treat and prevent disease are a godsend, like the drug varenicline that doctors have used to help patients curb their smoking addictions. Recent evidence has shown that it may also help curb other addictions as well.

But as good as these pills are, they're not strong enough to do the job alone. Taking cholesterol medication while continuing to eat bacon fried in lard, for example, probably negates any good benefit the drug offers. One pill just won't do it.

But that doesn't stop people from relying on them. Of all the pharmaceutical ads popping up everywhere, the ones targeting America's rapidly expanding waistline seem to get the most response. After all, if you could really lose 10 pounds while still sitting on the couch eating cheese puffs, wouldn't you want to make that happen? Diet pills have been around for decades featuring before-and-after photos of folks who've gone from flab to fab without diet or exercise. Sales of these pills have swelled in the last few years along with the bellies of consumers. Every year brings new diets or a new remedy that claims we can have it all and still look good, too.

Move now to the psalm. Most people don't need a pill, they just need the will to get out and do what's right for their souls. There's no magic pill out there that can curb the human appetite for self-indulgence and no pharmaceutical miracle that one can ingest to heal a sin-sick soul. For that we need a prescription from the Scriptures, a spiritual diet and exercise plan designed to help us look and feel healthier in spirit.

Psalm 32 reads a bit like doctor's orders for a people suffering from the debilitating effects of sinful living. The word "Maskil" in the heading means something like "didactic song" -- a musical piece that teaches. As one of the penitential psalms in the same genre as Psalm 51, this particular song speaks of spiritual health and vitality as being the result of a comprehensive program of confession, repentance and forgiveness.

The psalm begins by defining spiritual health: "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" and those "in whose spirit there is no deceit" (vv. 1-2). People become fit and trim in spirit when they are unburdened from the weight of guilt that sin has packed on. Cutting that dead spiritual weight, according to the psalmist, begins when we get real about our situation. Sin, like junk food bingeing, often happens in secret. We tend to gorge ourselves when no one else is looking, but the crumbs on our shirts and spirits betray us. The psalmist realized that the "silence" of secret sin had affected him spiritually and physically. The human tendency is to cover up the smelly side effects of our sin by any means, no matter how bizarre or destructive to ourselves or those around us. God isn't fooled, however. The psalmist felt the "heavy" hand of God's conviction which sapped his "strength" for carrying the charade on any further (vv. 3-4).

The cure for sin, however, isn't a one-shot personal power pill but a daily workout regimen. The psalmist lays out a three-pronged sin-reduction program. Call it the "CPI" diet: confession, prayer and instruction.

Confession: The psalmist laid out his sin before God, refusing to "hide" it any longer. No pill here, just a will to "confess my transgressions to the LORD" (v. 5). People with addictions going through 12-step programs know that the first step toward healing is acknowledging that they have a problem, be it with alcohol, drugs, food or anything else. We have to realize along with them, though, that the first step is often the hardest. Like the first day you run on the treadmill or lift those weights, confession can result in some personal pain as we have to face what we've done or failed to do and the resulting debilitating effects. If we're willing to go there, however, we immediately find that we have a workout partner, a real "ally" in God. When we confess our sins, God is "faithful and just" and forgives those sins, coming alongside us to begin the healing process (1 John 1:9). The heavy weight of guilt melts away when we sign up for God's program of love and forgiveness.

Prayer: Think of prayer as the ongoing daily discipline that keeps the fat of sin from coming back. When the faithful offer prayer to God, God responds with protection and preservation, strengthening the will against the "rush of mighty waters" (v. 6). In the ancient world, the sea and other wild waters represented evil and chaos. The psalmist rejoices that God holds back the evil from washing over our souls when we choose to spend time with God in prayer. It is in prayer that we find a "hiding place" in God and hear God's "glad cries of deliverance" (v. 7). To put it another way, prayer is a way for us to hear God cheering us on to a new way of life!

Instruction: The voice of the psalm seems to switch over to God in verse 8. Like a personal trainer, God will "instruct," "teach," and "counsel" God's people toward a healthy spiritual lifestyle. God's instruction requires an obedient response, however. The fact that the rate of obesity in the United States has grown despite an accompanying rise in diet pills and books, exercise videos and other fitness-related products tells us something about human nature -- we know what's good for us, but we're often too stubborn or set in our ways to actually do it. God calls people to respond willingly to God's direction and not act like a "horse or mule" that has to be "curbed with bit and bridle" (v. 9).

"Many are the torments of the wicked," says the psalmist, "but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD" (v. 10). Like a person who takes a diet pill but continues to eat fat, if we hear God's word and fail to do it there will be some painful and potentially disgusting side effects! The real cure for our hunger of the spirit is found in the joy of being forgiven, the daily exercise of spending time with God in prayer, and in the "steadfast love" we experience when we choose to walk with God, our ultimate ally.


Sources:

Dahl, Melissa. "Diet pill's icky side effects keep users honest." MSNBC Health Web Site, July 6, 2007. msnbc.msn.com/id/19587389. Viewed August 7, 2007.

Myalli.com Web Site. myalli.com, Viewed August 7, 2007.