The Lamborghini

Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.  Psalm 38:10

Desire – “My desire,” says David.  The Hebrew is ta’awah – desire, delight, bounty, craving and greed.  Havvah used the same word when she described the aesthetic, cognitive and physical beauty of the fruit of that Tree.  It was desirable.  David meditates about his desires and discovers that none of them are hidden from the Lord.  Go ahead.  Make your own list.  Mine includes this – a Lamborghini 6.0 VT.  It is desirable to me.  There are lots of things that could go on the list.  Most of them involve money, sex or power in some form or another.  None of them are hidden from God.  He knows us through and through.  He even knows those personal, intimate desires that we struggle to  set aside in order to let Him provide His desires.  But if we really admit it, sometimes they still hang around the edges, don’t they?

It might be important to notice that this psalm is not addressed to YHWH or to Elohim (God).  In this psalm, the word “Lord” isn’t a substitute for YHWH.  This psalm is addressed to Adonai, Lord.  Actually, it is addressed to my Lord.  David usually sings his praises to YHWH (used more than 400 times in the Psalms).  Sometimes he employs the class noun of status, Elohim.  But Adonai is only used about 50 times.  Why would David use this fairly rare expression when he expresses his desires?

Adonai places emphasis on the sovereignty of the Most High.  He is the Lord.  As such, He is certainly king David’s lord.  Even the king owes allegiance to Him.  Even the king must put Adonai’s requests before the king’s desires.  But the Lord knows the hearts of those who serve Him.  As Lord, He takes responsibility for the well-being of His servants.  A servant lives to carry out the will of his master, but a master accepts the obligation of the well-being of those who serve him.  Perhaps David’s use of Adonai is a reminder to himself (and to God) that as a servant, his personal desires are concerns of  his master.  God does care about Lamborghinis.  Actually, He cares about Skip’s desire concerning Lamborghinis.  That doesn’t mean He desires Skip to have one.  God determines what is good for His servants because He actually knows what is good – for us and for Him.  But even if God knows that a Lamborghini is not really good for Skip, He also knows that Skip has a desire for Lamborghinis.  As long as Skip acknowledges that God actually knows about this desire, and Skip leaves it in his Master’s hands, the desire will only draw servant and Master closer.  It is a matter of submission to the benevolent understanding of the Master.  It is a matter of trusting that the Master knows and will do what is best for all.  It is not a matter of ignoring, rejecting or dismissing the desire.  The desire is simply a symptom of passion and passion is what makes us truly human.  But passion unchecked by submission is like fruit picked from the Tree.  Poisonous, destructive, deadly.

Topical Index:  desire, Lord, Adonai, Psalm 38:10