a humble heart

Psalm 131: A song of ascents. Of David.

1 My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

This is David…King David. Saying he does not concern himself with great matters is kind of like Obama saying that something is above his pay grade. Nothing is above the President’s, or the King’s, pay grade. David knew this. But he also knew that even the position of King was not something that should make a person’s heart proud or eyes haughty. There are still things too wonderful for even the King to be concerned about. That is true humility.

Or—maybe this Psalm was written in David’s pre-king years. If that’s true it wouldn’t be any less profound. Here is a man destined to be King. He wasn’t grasping at greatness, but had a still and quiet soul that hoped in God alone. He would not become King because he was seeking a proud and wonderful position, but because He only, and fully, trusted the Lord.

Reflecting on that makes me ask myself 2 questions:

1. In the areas where I have some level of responsibility or authority, do I publicly, or secretly, have a chip on my shoulder? Do I ever so subtly (as my good friend Jamie used to say) “think I’m all that and a bag of chips?” If so, I need to remember David, who as a flawed King still regularly found himself on his face before the Lord repenting and humbling himself in worship, reminding himself that he was so small compared to a Big God.

2. When I feel like I have so far to go, do I start grasping at greatness? Do I start climbing a self-serving ladder fueled by the energy of a tumultuous soul? Or do I quiet my heart and fully trust in God?

I’m not sure which is harder, staying humble in great circumstances or not thrashing about for greatness in humble circumstances. But I must remember David, who as an obscure shepherd and wrongfully accused throwaway outlaw accepted his reality and held doggedly onto trust in the Lord alone.