Horizontal Minded Or Vertical Minded Psalm 73 (day 15)

For this lent season, I am doing a forty-day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around Easter. My hope is to generate a newfound awe of what Christ did on the cross.

Psalm 73:2-5
[2] But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. [3] For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. [4] For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. [5] They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Psalm 73:13-17

[13] All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. [14] For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. [15] If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children [16] But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task [17] until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

This Psalm hit me right between the eyes this morning. This is a predominant sin for me where I am envious of people who have it better than I do. We see the Psalmist say, “they have no pains or they're not in trouble like the rest of mankind”. In this moment the Psalmist (including me) is horizontally minded, meaning he's letting his environment define his joy. We see later the Psalmist in 73 is convicted that he had been faking a clean heart. Meaning, he didn't want anybody know what his real wrestling match was; that's what I do. I want people to see a façade of mine; I want people to see I'm doing well when I'm really not. I'm like the Psalmist when he says in verse 16, “to understand why am I so envious of people who do not suffer like I am is a wearisome task”. It wasn't until the Psalmist went into the sanctuary of God (verse 17) that he realized that his joy comes from his salvation. When I am horizontally minded and I'm allowing others to affect my worship I get wearisome.  When I go into the sanctuary of God, or in the presence of God I see God has chosen me; I belong to Him and that brings me back to worship of what God did for me on the cross.

Jesus was for vertically minded. He suffered more than any man has or ever will. It brought Jesus joy to do the will of the Father. Jesus was sinless as the sinners accused him and Jesus didn't look to man for position; He looked to God the Father, for His position. Man has two positions; our position before man; and because of what Christ did on the cross, our position before God. Which one are you more enamored with? I hope it's your position before God. The only way that I get out of horizontal mindedness is to look at what Christ did on the cross and then my mind is on Christ; not on man.