Psalm 73, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #259: WASHING THE SINK & MAKING A FRIEND

We started a new series in Psalm today, where we would pick out of a selection of Psalms to study for the entire series. The goal is to meditate and study this Psalm extensively. I'm going to try to memorize the entire Psalm 73--all 28 verses!--by the end of the series. That approximately comes out to about 4 verses per week, or 1 verse every 2 days. Here goes! With each new addition, I'll write all the memory verses I memorized beforehand, plus highlighting the new verses.

MEMORY VERSE: "Surely God is good to those in Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Psalm 73:1

NOTES: When Jason introduced this Psalm, he split it up into three(?) sections. Here's section one:
Surely God is good to Israel, 

   to those who are pure in heart.

 ² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
   I had nearly lost my foothold.
³ For I envied the arrogant
   when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 ⁴ They have no struggles;
   their bodies are healthy and strong.^[a]
5 They are free from common human burdens;
   they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
   they clothe themselves with violence.
⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity^[b];
   their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
   with arrogance they threaten oppression.
⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
   and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
   and drink up waters in abundance.^[c]
11 They say, “How would God know?
   Does the Most High know anything?”

 ¹² This is what the wicked are like—
   always free of care, they go on amassing wealth

This passage is definitely something that I can relate to, because it seems like the people that are most successful at school or in the secular world are those that are least religious, or even sometimes least "deserving." Especially in the world of AP Curriculum, it's extremely tempting when you see the cheaters and liars who have gone to Ivy Leagues or become extremely successful, and wonder about your own integrity. However, I think one of the things that differentiates us from nonbelievers is our definition of success: when you live of the world, success is defined by taking "possession of the world" and "amassing wealth." Yet, as Christians, our definition of success is slightly different. I think Francis Chan put it nicely in his article, Are You A Good Christ?:

" It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of "success" as American church-goers define it. The thought of being well-known and respected is alluring. There have been times when I've been caught up in the fun of popularity. I've even mistaken it for success. Biblically, however, success is when our lives parallel Christ's. Truth is, there are many good Christs that you'll never read about in a magazine. They are walking as Jesus walked, but they are too focused and humble to pursue their own recognition" 
-Francis Chan, "Are You A Good Christ?"


I think that once we truly start striving for God's glory and not our own, the success of the world would become much less appealing. 


ACT OF LOVE: There has been a substitute teacher in my art class for the past week, so the sink has gotten pretty dirty with people dumping paint into/around the sink area. When I saw that it was so messy, I cleaned it up by wiping it down and taking some of the paint stains off, even though no one asked me to.
Also, welcomed a new kid named Kevin to HSF. I first met him as I was eating the dinner with Mandarin Fellowship, and since I had to go Barnabas I introduced him to two other people--Sharon and Jchou, so that he wouldn't be left alone :)