Psalms 131:1-2 -- On Avoiding Tantrums

"Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child."
Psalms 131:1-2


This psalm is only three verses long, and I liked this part because it made me think of our human tendency to drama. This selection makes a comparison between the behavior of adults and children, which seems pretty on target. Although hopefully we grow out of certain physical manifestations of temper tantrums, like throwing ourselves on the floor or screaming and beating our fists against whatever is closest, I feel like our adult temper tantrums are often worse, because we know how to be more destructive emotionally.

I love the idea here of learning to be humble and calm as a child before the Lord, and the concept of quieting ourselves emotionally and spiritually just as we learned to do physically when we were children. I don't think that the "things too high for me" part means that we can't seek knowledge or ask questions--only that we should be willing to recognize that God knows more than we do, and not think that we can out think or criticize him... the humility of a child rather than the forced submission of a prisoner or something.
Today, let's remember that we are still children before the Lord and we have so much to learn in so many areas. Let's be humble and seek understanding, and quiet ourselves when we feel tempted to dramatic ourbursts, instead being willing to think and pray and strive until we can solve our problems and express our emotions in a more palatable way. :)