Help Me Remain Humble
Have mercy on us, O Lord … for we have endured … much ridicule from the proud … much contempt from the arrogant.
Psalm 123:3, 4
Kendal’s business partner was one of the most obstinate people he’d ever met. The fact that he was his brother-in-law only made matters worse. Try as he might, Kendal couldn’t seem to understand the man’s what-I-say-goes attitude. He dominated the office; absolutely nobody tested his resolve. Because of his oppressive demeanor, they had lost several good employees over the past year.
No one, including Kendal, could reason with him. He would listen to what you had to say and then look you straight in the eye and say, “If you have a problem doing what I told you, I can get someone else in here to do your job!”
Kendal confided to his wife that her brother’s attitude had become so bad that he didn’t know how much longer he could continue working in the stress-filled atmosphere.
“Honey, I wake up each day not sure whether to say, ‘Good morning, Lord’ or ‘Good Lord, it’s morning.’ I don’t look forward to my work anymore.” His brother-in-law’s attitude was emotionally draining, and he wasn’t willing to compromise his sanity much longer. “Help me remain humble, Lord!” he prayed.
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Many of us have worked for or know domineering employers who do not understand how relationships are meant to work from an authority standpoint. Somewhere along the line, they developed a need to dominate instead of nurture.
In today’s text, the psalmist petitions God for mercy from the position of a slave to his master on behalf of a people who have endured rough treatment at the hand of oppressors.
We are not told how God answered their plea or what action they took, if any, against those who abused them. We only know they were oppressed.
When faced with heavy-handed authority, Paul instructs us, for the sake of the oppressors, to gracefully endure persecution (1 Corinthians 4:12), leaving retribution to God so that He might bring change.
It is okay to cry out to God for relief as long as we remember our humble witness may be needed a little bit longer.
Prayer
“Save me from oppression, Lord. And until that day, give me grace to endure. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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