Devotion: The Majesty of Man

³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,  ⁴ what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?  ⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  ⁶ You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet:  ⁷ all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,  ⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  ⁹ O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!  (Psalm 8:3-9)

There are two competing views of man (i.e., human beings) in Western society.  The first view — which is the more recent and the more popular view — is that man is the product of millions of years of evolution.  The basic idea of evolution is that random and accidental mutations proved to be advantageous and resulted in a life form surviving and advancing.  In the case of man, these mutations elevated him above the other animals to the place he now holds.  At its core, this view tells us that we are essentially no different than the animals that populate the earth, that we exist as a result of chance, that we have no existence beyond this life, and that we have no special purpose beyond producing, consuming, and procreating.  How depressing!

In light of this view of man and how foundational it has become in our understanding of ourselves, it shouldn't surprise us that people in our culture are chronically depressed or that they live for selfish pleasures.  If we are here as a result of accidents and we have no purpose higher than the animals that we breed, kill, and eat, why not live for whatever pleasure we can squeeze out of our short and miserable existences?  And given that the pleasures we pursue come so infrequently and at such a great cost, who wouldn't be depressed?

But there is another view of man that stands in stark contrast to this disheartening understanding of ourselves.  This view has been around for a long time.  For thousands of years people have embraced this view of mankind and found purpose, meaning, and joy in life because of it.  By seeing themselves according to this view, people have overcome great obstacles, created beautiful works of art, advanced science, invented amazing creations, discovered cures for illnesses, established great civilizations, and much, much more.  What is this view?  It's the understanding that man was created by God in God's own image.

 

The psalmist asks a question that no evolutionist would even consider, "What is man that You are mindful of him?"  This question delights in the reality that there is a God who has fashioned all of creation according to His good pleasure and that man is the crowning work of His creation.  More than a mere animal that has happened by chance into its role at the top of the heap of life forms, man is a unique creation made in God's image to experience the joy of God's goodness.  Man has a purpose that goes beyond the moment and a life that transcends death.  Man is crowned with glory and honor by his Creator and shares in the majesty of God.

Having been given such a high and majestic view of man, we must wonder how we ever bought into the lies of men who would reduce us to mere animals, rob us of purpose, and strip us of our majesty.  Praise God that He is mindful of man and empowers us, by faith, to see beyond the destructive theories of men to the uplifting truth of His Word.