“Why do the nations
rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed
…” (Psalm 2:1-2; ESV)
As I was reading those verses earlier this week, a couple words
jumped off the page at me … “rage” …
“plot in vain” … “counsel together.”
While this speaks to the “nations,” I began wondering how much of this is true in the church
as well. With the church looking so much like the world today anyway, could it
be that the church is perhaps sometimes guilty of also raging and plotting in vain
as they take counsel together?
What am I getting at?
Consider church splits, internal and external. We’ve become
experts at dividing the body over all sorts of silly little things. It is one
thing to divide over major key doctrinal issues, although I suppose even that
can be debated. But how often haven’t we all seen “raging” in the church over the dumbest little stuff as well? I have
actually heard stories of “raging”
divisions over the color to paint the church nursery and have personally even been
the recipient of a “raging” backlash
over the moving of a pulpit. Even church elders do it, ridiculing and “raging” against other church leaders who
do not share their theological viewpoints.
What’s worse is that sometimes it almost sounds like a
conspiracy as brothers and sisters gossip and promote their disunity. They feed
off one another as they take “counsel
together” discussing their perceived failures and shortcomings of others.
The church has become really good at discussing what they’re against, and
thereby slandering others in the process. God calls this a “plotting in vain.” Too bad we’re not as
good at discussing what we’re for, or at least that’s the way it seems
sometimes.
“He who sits in the
heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (Psalm 2:4)
What is “derision?” It is probably best defined as the
feeling that people express when they criticize and laugh at someone (or
something) in an insulting way.
I confess that I struggle with such an attitude from God,
yet there it is in the pages of the Bible. But then again, maybe it’s good and
right when we stop and think about God’s ideal for the church (and ultimately
for all mankind) of treating one another with humility, love, respect, dignity,
compassion, collaboration, etc. As unloving as it might sound, maybe God does
hold in “derision” his children who refuse to treat one another the way God
calls us to.
It would serve us right, when we all reach that great
Messianic banquet in Glory, to find that we’ve been seated beside the very
people we’ve “raged” against here on
earth. Perhaps when we look at it that way, maybe ours really is, a “plotting in vain.”
Something to think about.
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