Psalm 8:1-9 What Is Man
David sings of God’s majesty and how He has passed a portion of that down to man. “What is man that You are mindful of him”? (verse 4a).
I couldn’t read the first verse in this psalm without singing it! I did not expect the verses that followed because they are not the following words of the song ringing in my heart. I have a feeling verse one will be repeated in other psalms, including the one featured in the song running through my head.
This psalm of David starts with God’s majesty and how awe inspiring it is. And he is COMPLETELY correct. God doesn’t need us to proclaim His glory. His creations do that on their own. But He loves to hear His children speak His praises. To hear them sing of the marvelous works He has made and how He has moved in their individual lives.
When my kids were little, they were often ‘singing my praises’. They would say, “Oh mommy, you cook so good!” And mean it. It made my heart happy to hear they appreciated what I did for them, even if it was just a packet of Hamburger Helper I threw together. My response was always, “I thank you and Betty Crocker thanks you.”
God made man special. We are created in His image. Part of that makeup is ‘authority’. God has authority over EVERYTHING and He decided to give man a portion of that authority. David tells us that God made man a little lower than the angels and then endowed him with authority over every created thing. “You have given him [man] dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (verse 6).
With authority comes responsibility. God didn’t create the world then run off to play with something else. He continually watches over His creation making adjustments and redirections whenever He feels the need. He is fully invested in seeing His creation reach its fullest potential. He knows just when to step in and take the reins and when to sit back and wait while those under His authority work out the issues.
Man has a responsibility for the things he has authority over. This includes the animals God created, the planet He gave us to inhabit, and our children. This list is a little backwards because I think our greatest duty of care belongs to our children. But in caring for them, we need to be looking to their future too. Caring for the rest of God’s creation is part of caring for our children’s future. Teaching them responsibility for what God has given us is a vital part of our responsibility as God’s children.
Because sin entered this world, things ARE going to wear out, crumble and die. There is no preventing this. All we can do is care for what we have the best way we know how. And trust God to do all the adjustments necessary to ensure His current creation last as long as He needs it to. He has something better in store for His children but we have to wait a while to receive it.
Father God, I don’t know why You trust me but I’m grateful that You do. Thank You for developing responsibility in me. You don’t just throw me into the ‘deep end’ and expect me to ‘swim’. You tell me, hold my hand during the first steps, stand close enough to jump in if needed, watch as I do my first ‘solo’ THEN let me take the reins. I make mistakes along the way. Of that I have NO doubt. But when I give them to You, I am amazed at what You can do to repair the mess I’ve made.
Thank You for working with me as I used these same ‘techniques’ with my children. I think they were the BEST lesson in responsibility You ever gave me! I pray I did well with them and passed on the sense of responsibility to them that You gave to me.
You are AMAZING and I want to grow up to be as much like You as possible. Thank You for giving me the chance to grow in You.
Please forgive me if my befuddled mind has totally missed the point of this psalm or what You were trying to teach me through it. Thank You for all that I have accomplished today and for not letting me get away with skipping out on our time together.
