Psalm 51:1-9

Psalm 51:1-9
Revised Standard Version (RSV)

  51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
  3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
  6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

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  Are you rich?
  It depends on who you measure yourself against.  If you pick Bill Gates, probably not.  Unless you're Warren Buffet, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my devotionals.  (If so, Hi Warren)  If you choose to compare yourself against someone making a median wage in Haiti, you are very wealthy.  So it all depends.
  Notice, then, the first verse.  We ask for God to be merciful based on his steadfast love, according to God's mercy.  God is far, far more merciful than even the most gracious human.  God is far kinder to us than we are to ourselves.  And so we ask for God to base his mercy on himself, because we know that he will be more loving than we can possibly be.
  Take comfort, because God's love determines the outcome, not your own view of yourself.  God loves you.

May you take comfort in the peace and forgiveness of God