offend against the generation of thy children

“If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.” (Psa. 73:15) The psalmist had been going through a rough patch. He saw the wicked prospering in the world, whereas his own life was a nightmare of trouble and suffering. He began to have doubts about the justice of God, the love of God, and the wisdom of God. It seemed as if the Lord rewarded wickedness and punished uprightness. But Asaph made a noble resolve. He determined not to parade his doubts lest he should stumble any of God’s children. Probably most of us have doubts and questions at times. Especially when we are almost at the end of endurance, when everything seems ready to cave in on top of us, it is easy to question the providence of God. What should we do? We are certainly permitted to share our doubts with someone who is spiritually qualified to counsel us. Sometimes we are too distracted to see the light at the end of the tunnel, whereas it is quite clear to others and they can lead us to it. As a general rule, we should “never doubt in the darkness what has been revealed to us in the light.” We should not interpret God’s Word by circumstances, no matter how bleak. Rather we should interpret our circumstances by the Scriptures and realize that nothing can ever thwart God’s purposes or nullify His promises. But above all, we should not go around needlessly parading our doubts. There is the terrible danger of stumbling Christ’s little ones, concerning whom He said, “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6). Our certitudes are numberless; our doubts, if any, are few. Let us share our certitudes. As Goethe said, “Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any, but keep your doubts to yourself, for I have enough of my own.”