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25 January 2011

I Shall Not Want

The One God shepherds me, I shall not want.

But I do want.
And for the life of me, I can't figure out if I'm supposed to.
I am so grateful for all I have. But I am not content.
I want more. Not more stuff.
One more prayer. One more hope. One more dream. One more longing.
One more heart's desire. One more whispered wish.
I wrestle with the theology that says if I don't have it I don't need it. Or that I have what I need in myself. I would certainly be happier if I didn't want anything outside myself. But I don't know how not to want.

2 comments:

  1. We are socialized to want from reward systems for good behavior to the media messages that tell us what we should not be without. I struggle with being content with what I have and helping others and wanting more too.

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  2. Well, what does it really mean, "I shall not want?" That we will have no needs? That we shouldn't want things? I don't know the Hebrew (shocking!), so I can't examine it that way, but from the English Major Pastor's point of view, part of the beauty of the Psalm is how many different ways we can read its component parts.
    Praying for your want, whatever it is.

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