Psalm_127

Scripture

Psalm 127:1-2

 

1  Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 2  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. Observation-What does it say?

The writer of this Psalm, King Solomon describes what meaningful labor looks like, not meaningless labor. It brings me back to the book of Ecclesiastes, where he describes throughout the book that all the toiling under the sun is meaningless. (See Ecclesiastes 1:3, Eccl. 2:11, Eccl. 2:17-26, etc.)

 

Understanding-What does it mean?King Solomon was a man with TRUE wisdom.I love King Solomon’s story. (By the way, he is King David and Bathsheba’s 2nd child, after the 1st one was taken away as a consequence of their sin.) In a dream, the Lord told King Solomon to ask him for anything he wanted. Instead of asking God for wealth, possessions, honor, to defeat all his enemies, etc., he asked God for wisdom. Because God saw that his heart wasn’t for those things, He blessed King Solomon with the knowledge and wisdom he asked for PLUS all of those other things anyway. (See 1 Kings 3:1-15 and 2 Chronicles 1: 7-13)King Solomon knew that true success wasn’t a byproduct of what he could do in his own strength. As the Psalm says, unless the Lord is behind it, it is all in vain. All the toiling and labor is in vain. It’s all meaningless. However, if we give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord in His strength and wisdom, none of it is in vain.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

 

Life Application

Are we spending our time and energy in vain, toiling and fighting for things that don’t last in light of eternity?

 

On Sunday, Pastor preached about using our words to build up, not destroy. He also spoke about what true wisdom looks like, as opposed to false. Here’s a reminder of the verse Pastor had in his sermon, regarding exalting ourselves. James 3:13-14 NLT- If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth.  And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise.  That is the worst kind of lie.The only reason why there is good in any of us is because of Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, we are nothing. Let’s toil and labor to build His Kingdom and not our own. If God is in it, it will not be destroyed.-Michelle Gaddi