Verses 1-3 When we first got my dog, he wouldn't stop chewing on his arms because of fleas. Even after the fleas were taken care of, his skin was messed up and he couldn't stop licking it. Unfortunately, we had to make the terrible decision of getting him the cone of shame.
Verses 1-3 I absolutely love this portion of this Psalm. I don't remember ever reading a verse in the Bible where a man claims to have the desire to put a muzzle on his mouth to keep from verbally stomping on the name of God. On the other hand, think about the passion there. Think about how sincere David is about his love for our God. Sin is so serious in his mind that he would rather keep his mouth shut than speak a word against our holy Father. Hence, we move onto the example of the cone of shame. Whenever a dog has a sore that he chews on or licks too much, sometimes the only way for the wound to heal is for the dog to leave it alone for a very long time. Unfortunately, dogs are stupid. I remember the time when Max (my precious little puppy) had to adorn the cone of shame. Not only was it extremely hilarious for me to watch my dog make an absolute fool of himself - it was embarrassing for him. He would walk into walls, and I would laugh. I mean, come on, look at the picture above - the dog knows that he is wearing .. dun dun dun ... the cone of shame. As Christians, we have this fascinating talent of ruining our lives and destroying our closeness to our heavenly Father. Sometimes, the only option is the cone of shame ... an action of extreme humility in which we tell God and the world surrounding us that we are not our number one priority, but GOD is.
Verses 4-6 David was onto something here. He goes to our God in prayer and in song asking God to give him a cone of shame - for God to put him in his place. In my life when I get too prideful or start to feel like I'm making myself into some sort of "God's gift to the world" ... I like to sit and look at the stars and the vastness of the universe to allow God's creation to belittle me. God is so big, God is so great. David wants to be humbled, David wants to be "small" in the arms of a BIG God. But why? If you keep reading you see that the world and all that inhabit it have goals that tend to be extremely selfish. In this chapter, they seek after money, but realistically, these goals can be associated with any lust of the flesh (power, popularity, possessions ... and many other words that do not start with the letter p). The fact of the matter is that no man is guaranteed another day on this Earth, and these vain pursuits have no promise or guarentee of salvation. Jesus once said - store up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matt 6:20) - treasure that will last forever. Now how do you start to hoard up a massive amount of treasure in heaven ... by putting on a servants heart and dressing up everyday with a spiritual cone of shame. Love others. Love God. Place God's desires in your life far ahead of the plans that you have for your own life. Put a muzzle on your mouth and keep your lips from speaking lies (Psalm 38). Basically, be humble.
Verses 7-13 I've already mentioned why we should do this in the first place, but we'll talk about it briefly again. No man can guarantee himself entrance into heaven. No amount of wealth can buy you salvation or even pay for your sins - only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The cone of shame has an additional purpose - much like blinds on a horse. When dogs have to wear a cone, they lose their peripheral vision, and can only see in one direction. When we are humble and focused on God and his glory - it is important to constantly check for any pride sneaking into our field of view. Make your focus Jesus Christ. Allow nothing else to get in the way - no matter how humbling or "embarrassing" it may be. Jesus is, and always will be, everything you will ever need.
The end.
-Chris
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