Cultivating an Interior Life
Psalm 2: A welcome antidote to a culture of complaint.
Psalm 2 may not be the most glamorous, but it bears a truth worth telling. A person has been called upon to lead.
This was no ordinary person. The selection process was lengthy. Just when it was thought that all of the best candidates had been considered, there was David, a shepherd, out tending sheep.
Cultivating an Interior Life of Contemplation and Prayer
David was not leadership material by most standards. He did not have the pedigree that some wanted, but he did have that one intangible quality worth noting: David had a heart. His interior life was cultivated by a daily inquiry into a wisdom beyond his own that included an awareness of God and neighbor. It was this interior awareness that propelled him on his best days and sustained him at his worst.
Part of the Problem or the Solution?
Unfortunately, not all are persuaded by the strength of an interior life. In the context of Psalm 2, such naysayers are those “…who conspire and plot in vain…, …they band together…” and usually do more to exacerbate a problem than to work toward a viable solution. Though David was not deterred by these trouble makers, on some days we can imagine they were kind of a drag.
Taking Responsibility
In the face of such pettiness, says the poet, God must laugh. “Be advised…,” he says, that kind of negativity goes around. If one has a problem with someone, go to the source. Make your case. Speak the truth in love, and most importantly, listen to understand.
Psalm 2 asserts that the antidote to a culture of criticism is taking responsibility for ourselves, exercising care of others, and being good stewards of the world around us.
Where the voices of descent and abandonment loom large, there is always the voice of God who does not relenquish advocacy in our success or failure. It is perhaps the very one who says on any given day, “take up your cross and follow me.”
