Psalm 127
The header of today’s Psalm 127 includes the addition, “…of Solomon”. And the Psalm itself truly sounds like Solomon’s writings – proverbs not unlike the book of Proverbs!
Ps. 127:2 speaks of an addiction that we have seen in Freedom Road: “workaholics” are addicted to work! And to what end? Verse 2 suggests that excess labors are “in vain”, especially if those labors are “anxious” (ESV) or “painful” (NASB). Solomon is not rejecting our daily toil; he is suggesting that adding more hours to that daily toil is not in our best interests. Do the work responsibilities given you and trust God to meet your needs. Additional painful or anxious work is of no benefit.
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. (v. 1) I was in charge of funding for a new church building at our old church. I had this verse at the top of every piece of correspondence that I wrote to our congregation. They’ve got their new building now, but it was the Bishop who funded it for them. With that particular Bishop, I was never confident that it was the Lord who was building that house!
But for us today at St. Andrew’s, we’re not talking about physically building a house. I think verse 1 serves as an apt metaphor for us growing spiritually as a congregation. The Lord has to lead if we truly desire to “Glorify Jesus Christ as a Community of Disciples on Mission”.
My first read through of these passages confused me, specifically Ps. 127:3-5. V. 3 is extolling the gift children are, then vv. 4 & 5 compare having kids to lots of arrows for a warrior. My first thought was “What kind of comparison are kids to weapons?!” My study Bible helped a bit with an explanation of how having lots of arrows are an asset to a warrior, that he or she cannot be a good warrior without arrows —> assets. It then occurred to me that the comparison in these verses was that kids are assets, if you will, not weapons, for us to be whole or complete.
So then what part of kids helps make us whole? I think it’s their inquisitive minds challenging me to think outside my adult box or my adult comfort zone and sometimes take a refreshing look at things in life. It also helps me to understand today’s kids. And with my own children, who have placed their trust in me, I am free to love them abundantly!