Psalm 111 & 112
What do you fear? Fear is a very powerful part of our culture. Think how we have locks on every door and alarms on our cars, houses and business. Fear shapes how we feel in the dark, it shapes how we see the future of our country. The irony is that fear is part of our entertainment. We watch horror movies (I don't) and we ride roller coasters (I do). As a culture we seek thrills that come with being afraid. Rather ironic, on one hand we are afraid of everything but for fun we seek fear!
Both chapters today speak of the fear of the Lord. This fear is neither being terrified or having fun. This fear is a deep respect that helps us remember who the Creator is, who is the creation. The fear of the Lord is about the proper perspective of life.
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A recurring theme in the Psalms is how the wicked will suffer God's wrath -which I understand. But also, a repeated theme is that not just the wicked will suffer, but their children and generations and generations beyond will suffer for the sins of their fathers. It goes the other way, too, as in this Psalm, that the generations of the upright will reap the benefits of the fathers fearing the Lord. I've seen many examples of good, God fearing people whose children go in a completely opposite, wicked direction. And vice-versa. This is very confusing to me.
ReplyDeleteLet me give an example of the wicked whose children also suffer. Take a father who is abusive to his children. They obviously suffer the consequences of their father's abuse. What is also common is that they become like their father and are abusive to their children. That might be one example of how the consequence of sin is passed from one generation to the next.
ReplyDeleteOn the side of the good. While children tend to follow the example of their parents, either bad or good, they have free will to choose their own direction in life. So the child who has great models of faith for parents, may choose to go the opposite way. It is their choice. Like the child who was abused may choose a different way.