Thursday, October 20, 2011

Antipsalm 23

 I’m on my own.
 No one looks out for me or protects me.
 I experience a continual sense of need. Nothing’s quite right.
 I’m always restless. I’m easily frustrated and often disappointed.
 It’s a jungle—I feel overwhelmed. It’s a desert—I’m thirsty.
 My soul feels broken, twisted, and stuck. I can’t fix myself.
 I stumble down some dark paths.
 Still, I insist: I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want.
 But life’s confusing. Why don’t things ever really work out?
 I’m haunted by emptiness and futility—shadows of death.
 I fear the big hurt and final loss.
 Death is waiting for me at the end of every road,
 but I’d rather not think about that.
 I spend my life protecting myself. Bad things can happen.
 I find no lasting comfort.
 I’m alone . . . facing everything that could hurt me.
 Are my friends really friends?
 Other people use me for their own ends.
 I can’t really trust anyone. No one has my back.
 No one is really for me—except me.
 And I’m so much all about ME, sometimes it’s sickening.
 I belong to no one except myself.
 My cup is never quite full enough. I’m left empty.
 Disappointment follows me all the days of my life.
 Will I just be obliterated into nothingness?
 Will I be alone forever, homeless, free-falling into void?
 Sartre said, “Hell is other people.”
 I have to add, “Hell is also myself.”
 It’s a living death,
 and then I die.


What a contrast to the hope of David's Psalm 23:1-6.

From David Powlinson on Justin Taylor's Blog (it's well worth reading the rest): http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/10/18/two-ways-of-doing-life-psalm-23-versus-antipsalm-23/