The Psalm 131 Principle

“LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.”

(Psalm 131:1–3 NKJV)

In Over Your Head

  In the novel Great Expectations, a young orphan boy is blessed with an unknown benefactor who helps him financially on his way to becoming a gentleman, a very expensive endeavor. He is totally in the dark about the identity and intention of this mystery supporter, and he spends most of the time in the dark - wrongly guessing at one person or another.

    Pip isn't just in over his head there, he is also in over his head in society in general. It turns out money isn't enough to make this new way of life easy and Pip, being raised by a poor blacksmith and wife, has a lot to learn about living among the upper crust. It is frustrating to be in over your head...as the metaphor suggests...the comparison is to the unpleasant experience of drowning!

Overwhelmed by Options?

    In today's world it is common to feel in over our heads. There is so much information, and so many things going on, we cannot keep up with all of it. The most we can do is try to pick one thing to focus on and see if we can make sense of that. Even then, we suffer from lack of perspective, information, or understanding.

    This is no less true when it comes to spiritual growth. A young believer is immediately overwhelmed with the landscape of Christian denominations, theologies, cults, and celebrities. This was never the problem in previous generations of faith. Faith was relatively simple and it was easy to tell the good from the bad. We might have discussed a theological issue, but the battles that took place were calmer and took longer, owing to lack of communication options.

Challenges of Modern Christianity

    Now, the internet and social media have changed the face of the faith. Young believers are assaulted by the unhinged extremes of Christianity on video sharing sites, and forums alike. A young believer in the 90’s would have a Bible and hopefully a mentor, and a church family. Today they have the entire world of Christendom shouting for their attention right from the phone in their pockets.

    It is a great deal of pressure for a new or immature Christian. The young believer today has much more to untangle and untie than believers of previous generations. I have a great admiration for young believers today, and by the guidance of the Lord I have confidence that the Church will grow even through this testing of information-overload.

It is Good to be Growing!

    This, however, is where the Psalm 131 principle comes in. It is okay not to "be there yet."  Not every believer is ready to weigh into the debates with modern heretics and unhinged extremists. There is a time when we ought to rest in the clear revelation of the Lord and His love and recognize that others may worry about philosophies, ideas, and doctrines that go beyond scripture, and are over our heads, but you do not need to follow. The believer can cling to Jesus and to His word. Rest in our salvation and celebrate in his love.

    Somethings that are over our heads now will make sense to us later. Other things are clear to us now, that we will discover are much more complicated than we first thought. The Lord, however, is always faithful to those who have trusted His Son for salvation. Nothing could be more important than that simple and beautiful Psalm 131 - We can quiet ourselves as a child resting at his mother’s shoulder. Read God's word simply and clearly and those things that are beyond us will sort themselves out in good time. The Lord knows exactly what He is doing.