"I shall not want .."

Several thousand years ago a song writer wrote these lyrics. While this song (Psalm 23) is not available on iTunes, it's words are familiar to many, even one of the most memorized songs of all times. Of course we recognize it as a song of praise by David to God for His provision and protection. Have you ever wondered if everyone understands the words in the same way as David.

First, there are people who do not believe in God or believe that if there is a God, He either does not care, is not involved, or is not capable of this claim. They would think, isn't this obvious since we rarely get everything we want. We get sick and don't get well. We work hard and someone else gets the promotion. We love someone deeply and they leave us. So this must be a false claim. Anyone who believes it must need to feel like things will eventually go well. After all, we are told to be positive - a little hope, even when things seem hopeless, is always soothing.

Then there are those who believe in God and believe God loves them and wants the best for them, but they believe satisfaction is found in their circumstances. So when they hear, "I shall not want", they feel God is on their side and He will tilt the game of life in their favor. BUT then, our experience does not always line up with what we sing in this song. While those with this view may not abandon God, they can easily feel God has abandoned them. They may even feel they are not good enough for God to keep His promise to them, so they won;t get what they want.

But David's view of God is neither of these two. He knows in His heart (gnosis knowledge) that God is Sovereign, all powerful and loves him dearly. There is never a question of whether God can and will act on his behalf. The difference is that David understands that worldly provision is just temporary and is not how his soul is ultimately satisfied. David follows this claim in the song with, "He restores my soul." This suggests that everything the soul wants comes to him by God's willful acts of love.

In this song David is sharing he recognizes that everything we want is perfectly known by God and given to us without fail. This view of these lyrics requires a different core assumption on how our soul is satisfied than the first two views above. It is interesting that two people can view the same event and have two totally different experiences, depending on their core assumptions.

This is the goal of b4Wolrdview, to fully explore the 2 different core assumptions, or patterns of thought, that ultimately lead to how we view experiences. Have you noticed how people's fondness for singing songs with great energy reflect their view of life? BUT does every view lead to an abundant and virtuous life? Shouldn't we all get the right core assumptions so we can have the best view?

We think so ..... @ www.b4worldview.com