One key difference between people in the world has to do with what we think are the good things in life. Some are content with the simple. Some seem never satisfied. Some seek their joy and their good things in the things that dishonor God. Some find their joy in the Lord himself.
Psalm 16:2-4
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
In Psalm 16, David is telling us what he treasures and what he avoids. And these things are simple. They need to be our good things too.
In verse 3, David makes it plain that the people of God are his delight. HE loves them. They give him joy. It is a good thing for him to be with them.
In verse 4, David is clear that those who worship false gods are not in his favor. He does not find his greatest pleasure with those who do not also know his Lord. And he most certainly will not join those folks in their practices or conversations.
Why is all this true of David? WE see in verse 2. David is clear that he has no good in his life apart from the Lord. God is his all in all. God is his joy. God is his hope. The glory of God is where he finds his purpose.
Do you think we can learn from this? You bet. It’s super-simple, but it is a great reminder. You have to start where I ended above. Love God. Acknowledge that you have no good apart from the Lord. Set your soul on such a course that things that are not the things of God are not your favorite things. Folks, this is a radical form of Christianity. This is also simply biblical faith. God made us. God is our Lord. God sent his Son to save us. Eternity with God is our hope. God’s glory is the reason we live. We have no good apart from him.
If you have no good apart from God, you will begin to find your joy in the presence also of the people of God. When you have the chance to share life with those who also love your Lord, you should find joy. The saints in the land are to be your delight. We love one another as we love the Lord together. We testify to the greatness of Jesus and to our discipleship when we love one another.
At the same time, loving the Lord and loving his people means that there is something different in our relationship to those who do not know and love our Lord. WE are not ever going to be cruel to those who do not share our faith. We are never to be violent or mean spirited. But we are not going to find our deepest delight in those who do not share the love of our God with us.
Christian, examine yourself. Examine your life. Examine what are your good things. Is it God and his people in which you delight? I hope so. If not, seek the Lord’s aid to love that which most honors him.
Pastor Travis Peterson 