Psalms For Life, 2: With Or Without God? Scripture: Psalm 127

- As we think about this Psalm, we need to remember the particular gifts of the one who wrote it. We need to keep in mind that it was composed by Solomon whom God gifted with great wisdom. The Bible describes Solomon's wisdom in this way: ²⁹ "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt" (1 Kings 4:29-30, NIV)

- The wisdom of Solomon was such that it is always immensely spiritual and immediately practical for daily life. A person who puts into practice the wisdom she or he learns from Solomon will be seen as a very wise person indeed.

- After reading this Psalm, the first thing that stands out to me is verse one and that verse is traditionally used as a call to worship at the beginning of the marriage ceremony. Granted, this Psalm has some important things to say about family, but the subject of this Psalm is not primarily the family. The main idea of this Psalm is the utter meaninglessness of life without the living God.

- What does Solomon say is the value of all of life's accomplishments? According to Solomon, all of life's accomplishments are vanity, unless the Lord is their source, family included.

- Life only remains meaningful with God; life without God becomes meaningless.

- Unless God is at the center of our lives, then all our efforts, all our building, all our striving, all our work, and all that we invest in our families is meaningless.

- If we are wise, then our everyday, ordinary lives will demonstrate that God is central to our life and our living.

- If we want to raise a godly family, then God must be at the center of the family. Otherwise, all of our efforts to produce a family that lives right in the eyes of God will be in vain.

- If we want to produce a godly community, then God must be at the center of that community. Otherwise, all of our efforts to produce a godly community, which lives right in the eyes of God, will be in vain.

- From the beginning of creation, we have seen the results of human efforts to live without God. With the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God gave all humanity a taste of what life would be like without him. The result of the fall of the first family unit is a world in bondage to sin, death, and decay. Life without God is a life without his sustaining and redeeming power.

- The family unit that fails to place God at the center is a broken and dysfunctional family unit. The evidence of that brokenness is all around us and it shows itself in domestic violence, child abuse, adultery, addictions, disrespect, low self-esteem, marital strife, disobedient children and so on. The only solution for the brokenness of the family is to return God to his rightful place at the center.

- The community that fails to place God at the center is a broken and dysfunctional community. That brokenness is also evident all around us in communities gone wrong.

- Remove God from schools and what do we find? Increased violence, drug use, bullying, and gangs. We find unsuccessful students, teachers that are more concerned about their jobs than the students, program focused education rather than student focused education, and so forth.

- Remove God from government and what do we find? A culture of entitlement, corruption, and political jockeying become of greater importance than doing what is right for the sake of the country and good government.

- Remove God from the legal system and what do we find? We find laziness & corruption in the police, in attorneys, the judges, and in the system itself.

- Remove God from public life and family life and other false gods will rush in and fill the vacuum that is left behind; false gods which wreak havoc and destruction upon the communities of the world and upon the family.

- The world of the 21st century has placed nearly all its eggs in the technological basket. Technology, for all its value and all it's good, cannot save us from ourselves. It keeps us busy yet unfulfilled, entertained but dissatisfied, socially connected but somehow isolated and lonely. For all our technological accomplishments, on their own, they fail to bring greater meaning and depth to our lives.

- We could continue to list the effects of what happens when we remove God from the place where he belongs but that isn't going to help us this morning. All it would serve to do is lead us to lamenting and complaining about the culture in which we live and the communities to which we belong. It is depressing, disheartening, un-motivating and gives no hope.

- In the 127th Psalm, Solomon gives us a pattern for hope and shows us where we need to focus our work if we are going to change the culture around us.

- If we are going to see renewal in the church and revival in our community, then placing God at the center begins with each one of us and our families. As Solomon reminds us in verse one, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain."

- It was the very first family unit that chose a life without God and it is with the family unit life with God must begin.

- Family life only remains meaningful with God; family life without God becomes meaningless.

- ³ "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
   the fruit of the womb a reward."

- The legacy of right living godly parents is right living godly children (that also goes for those who are spiritual parents in addition to biological parents, which many of us are).

- When God is at the center of your life and your marriage, then you will have an eternally significant influence upon the lives of others. Your legacy will be children in the faith. When God is at the center, your life will have eternal significance. With God, life remains meaningful!

- ⁴ "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
   are the children of one's youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   who fills his quiver with them!"

- When God is at the center of your life, your marriage, and your family, then you reap a sense of security and protection that people living without God do not have.

- Just as many arrows protect the archer, so a person's godly influence brings the blessing of God.  A reproducing family ensures the family line and gives security and protection to the parents in their old age. Will the aged parents of a godly family be lonely? No. Will they be abandoned and isolated by society? No, not while their children are living.

- Isn't this also true of the church? The church that is producing godly offspring is a church which God protects as it ages because it will continue to reproduce godly offspring, offspring who will do what is right in the eyes of God.

- Life without God becomes meaningless; life only remains meaningful with God.

- When I was in senior high school, I made a decision that I didn't want to be told what to do anymore. I didn't want to do my homework, so I didn't. I didn't want to listen to my parents, so I didn't. I didn't want to go to youth group, so I didn't. I didn't want to read my Bible, so I didn't. Oh, I showed up for church and Sunday school. I went through the motions, but essentially I was living life without God.

- That first series of poor decisions led to another series of bad decisions. Let's just say the old saying, "I don't drink & I don't smoke. I don't cuss & I don't chew & I don't girl go with girls who do," doesn't apply to me. I did all those things and a few more.

- What I found was that none of those things fulfilled me. I found that what I like to call, "my little experiment" in life without God was empty & meaningless.

- When I hit rock bottom, which for me meant sinking low enough that I felt like dirt, then I knew it was time to turn things around and get my life back on track by putting God at the center.

- I learned that life without God becomes meaningless. When I turned back and committed myself the following him, then I began to learn that life only remains meaningful with God.

- I have learned that my life can have no greater purpose than to fulfill the calling that God has placed upon my life. Without him at the center everything this life has to offer is in vain. But with God at the center, every effort, every accomplishment finds meaning and purpose and fulfillment in him and for that I'm eternally grateful.

- Life without God becomes meaningless; life only remains meaningful with God.