What have you done for me lately

1 "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land." Psalm 95: 1-5

One of the terms I often like to use to describe this peculiar society that we live in, is to call it a "what have you done for me lately" culture. What I intend to say with this moniker is that we tend to treat people on the basis of how well (and how recently) have they serviced us. It's really a poke on our individualistic and selfish mindset, that encourages us to see everything and everyone created and ordered for the express purpose of meeting our felt needs.

I mean, marriage relationship of seven years not quite operating with the same romantic passion as that first year? Not loving me with that same initial fervor? Time for this thing to end - what have you done for me lately?

Presidents and Prime Ministers (and every politician in between) are judged by individuals on the basis of how their decisions and policies have affected me, personally (never mind the big picture). The fortunes of politicians rise and fall on the whims of this simple question...what have you done for me lately?

Even movie stars and athletes who were once beloved, sooner or later find themselves on the wrong end of public affection, when they either make a mistake or simply stop giving us what we want...what have you done for me lately?

I wonder if this mindset does not trickle into our relationship with God as well - especially with our praise and worship. Do we tend to praise God only we perceive He is doing something for us? Say for example, when He heals us from an illness, or when He gives us a good crop...But then hold back our praise when we perceive Him to be silent or not serving us - maybe when things aren't going so well? Is our relationship with God (in particular our attitude in offering worship) predicated on what God has done or not done for us? What have you done for me lately, God?

What I like about this Psalm, and it is a good bit of reality for our self-centered existence, is that our Worship of God should not depend on anything God has or has not done (and it certainly has nothing to do with us!).

The reason that we are to praise God continually, sings the Psalmist, is because of who He is. "For He is the Great God - the Great King above all gods." Worship should never revolve around us and our felt needs - worship is always about the very nature and character of our unchanging God. He who holds the universe that He created in the palm of His hand. He who is awesome in power, and unending in love. He who has always existed in beautiful splendor. He is worthy of our praise!

Really, wouldn't our society be a much more pleasing place to live if we became a "what have WE done for HIM lately" kind of culture?

Be God's, Scott