Living in the Spirit
May 18, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 8

What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
You have put all things under their feet,
All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes along the paths of the sea. –Psalm 8:4-8

It is painful to see how we as human beings treat each other. I suppose we are all guilty of harming the wholeness of another human at one time or another. I do not know why. Perhaps we think if we make someone else feel less whole, we will feel more whole. Actually relationships work exactly the opposite of that sentiment. When we work at building up another, we experience growth in maturity.

Those of us who find ourselves in the classification of the privileged have a particularly difficult challenge because we do not recognize the advantages that we have in life. They are our norm. Thus when we see something that impacts the “other” in our lives we do not get why they think our privilege is a problem.

Our Psalm today tells us that in God’s eyes all human beings are privileged to be acknowledged by God and given responsibility by God. We are called to share in God’s opinion of all human beings and even to render proper care for all the creatures of the earth as God cares for us.

Prayer: Lord, help me see the privilege in my life and help me to rectify any harm I may bring to others as a result of it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.