"They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly."
- Psalm 17:10(KJV)
I've put on some weight over the past few years. I'm not obese, but I'm definitely heavier than when I was younger. One of the [i]few[/i] advantages of this is that I have noticed that I'm not nearly as cold as I used to be during the winter. Yesterday morning as I was walking up the driveway to the job I was noticing this again, and this passage of scripture came to mind.
One of the things that I 've noticed too is that some people who are heavy will comment on how they are not cold, when others around them are. And it can almost seem as though they are boasting, and as if their being warm without wearing as much clothing as others is somehow an occasion of pride, and as if to say to themselves that they are special or superior because of it.
When it may just be that the extra weight insulates them from the cold.
But this really speaks to me of this text. Not that David had in mind anything physical in relation to this, that is, that somehow being heavy or having fat would make one proud. But rather the fat here speaks to me of anything that insulates us from what we should otherwise being feeling, and especially as it relates to those around us, and to God.
Now in the text David has in mind violent men, and especially those who were against him. Continued prosperity and unbroken success can make men over confident and can make evil men even more violent than they already are(Ps 73:3-12, 10:2-6).
And so the psalmist says,
"Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment."
But as I continued to cast these things in my mind this morning, I began to consider what other ways the scriptures may speak of us as being insulated, and what other garments or coverings there are that would keep us from being sensitive to those around us, and especially to God.
I thought for instance of the garments of goods and things of this world, of the rich man clothed in Purple, and of the congregation that said they were rich and had need of nothing. And how being full can make us insensitive or indifferent to our own spiritual needs and of the needs of those around us.
I thought of the garments of vengeance, which alone belong unto God(Is 59:17, Ps 94:1 Rom 12:19), and which if we wear momentarily in wrath can make us insensitive of consequences, or overtime can make us bitter(Mat 18:28).
I thought too of other garments:
Of the outward garments of religion(Luke 20:46, Mat 23:27,5)
Or of our own righteousness(Luke 18:9-14, Is 64:6)
I thought of the rough garment that is warn to deceive(Zec 13:4-5), or of putting on a sad or contorted face so as to appear to suffer(Mat 6:16), and how we may use the appearance of anger or of suffering to convince others that we are more spiritual or more in touch with God.
And I thought that lying and deception make us more susceptible in general, to being deceived(2Ti 3:13).
And perhaps there is too the garments of our own sins(Is 59:3-6).
And in contrast, I thought of how Peter says that we should all submit one to another, and be clothed with humility.
All of these garments are heavy and can surely weigh heavily upon us and weigh us down.
When I think of fine linen though, I think of something that is light upon the skin, light enough to let even a cool breeze pass through it. Surely something that would not make us insensitive to those around us. And especially to God.
I know I need to examine my garments. Even though it is winter, I need them to be light.
[i]edited to correct spelling[/i] _________________ Christopher Joel Dandrow
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