"Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre. Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud and you have said, 'I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a mortal, and no god, though you compare your mind with the mind of a god." (Ezekiel 28:2)
"I say 'You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you.'"(Psalm 82:6)
As I was reading the passages assigned for today in the Bible Challenge, I was struck by these two seemingly contradictory statements. Ezekiel pointing to a self ascribed godhood, one that rings hollow and proves false and the psalmist with the God's way of viewing us as gods, albeit with some strings attached.
When we get to full of ourselves we may begin to believe we are minor deities. While we may have strengths in certain areas and achieve great things we also have weaknesses and often miss the mark.
That type of ego centrism usually leads to quite a fall.
And yet we can also fail to see the image of God in ourselves when we focus on our failings and our shortcomings, missing how much that image comes from being a beloved child of God. The invitation I hear in that Psalm is to be more like God while acknowledging that I'm not God. To use the gifts and talents that I have. At the same time acknowledging those places where I am weak without letting them be the only thing that defines me.
Blessings,
Ed
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