There’s a scene, in “Stir Crazy,” a movie from 1980 with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, where Gene’s character says, “We bad. Yeah we bad.” Back in 1980 I thought the movie was funny. Today, I’d probably see it’s not a movie you and I should watch. So, I don’t recommend it…at all.
But the “we bad” part popped into my brain because of a Psalm.
On the surface, that might sound odd. But I’m grateful when that happens. I like when something in the Bible sparks a memory and helps me put it in perspective. Or when something that goes on in the world reminds connects my thoughts to a Bible passage.
Because when those things happen, it means I’m not a hopeless case. I’m not lost and hurdling toward eternal torment. And that’s because my Creator’s love and mercy are able to vaporize my wickedness.
David, who was one of the most famous kings of Israel (and a fellow songwriter), wrote Psalm 36 on this very topic. It’s about our wickedness (Yeah, we bad!) and God’s perfections.
I love how David would often juxtapose human shortcomings with the ways God overcomes them. And in Psalm 36 it sounds like David is using himself to describe man’s wickedness. He says the wicked person has “no fear of God before his eyes.” And that “he flatters himself in his own eyes.”
Then, he really gets to the heart of his own problems when he says, “He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed.”
Yeah, David was the guy who slew Goliath and led his country. God said David was a man after His own heart. But then David had an affair with Bathsheba. And he added sin upon sin by devising a way to have her husband killed in battle. Yeah, that’s pretty wicked alright.
But, thankfully, the Psalm doesn’t end there.
Then, David said God’s “faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” And he said “Your righteousness is like the great mountains.” And he adds how God preserves “man and beast.” Then David acknowledges how “precious” God’s “lovingkindness” is.
But the lines I like the most are when he says, “…the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from ithe river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”
And once he poetically expresses his appreciation for what God does for us, David then asks God to help him resist wickedness. And that’s just about the most effective type of prayer you can pray. Because it shows you understand your weakness and God’s strength. That’s called humility.
And humility is the key to God’s love and mercy and His heart. Grab that key and open that door today.
So, when the troubles of this world get you down, look up”
When the trials of this world pull you in, shout out”
Take hope”it’s free. From God to you and me”
Keepin’ Jesus within we’re never really without.
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