When I was in high school, there were only two things I had to memorize: from Macbeth, "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in its petty pace from day to day . . ." and Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . ." I am not sure why it was important to memorize the stanza from Macbeth, but I think I know why Sister Karen Marie wanted us to memorize Psalm 23. She wanted us to understand what our intimacy with God really means.

To me, "I shall not want" always meant that I didn't have to worry because God would take care of me.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
he leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff —
they comfort me.

- Psalm 23: 1-4

Josh Blakesley's The Lord Is My Shepherd is a beautiful song — one that carries me again to those well-memorized lines of the psalm.

Then this morning I was reading a reflection on Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins. One of the seven is "Religion Without Sacrifice," through which I came to a new understanding of the line "I shall not want." Gandhi believed that to have religion without sacrifice was to make religion into a community organization and to deny God's power in my life. To live the gospel, I must be willing to sacrifice for the good of others. When my life is full of pride and selfishness, these vices destroy my relationships with others and make it impossible for God to live at the center of my life. I realized this morning that "I shall not want" not only because God is always at my side, but because wanting causes me to lose my connection with both God and others. I shall not want because it will separate me from God. I shall not want because I see the needs of others who have so much less and my want is sinful by comparison. I shall not want because I recognize God in each person I meet and each sunset I experience.

Now if only I could live that every day!

Living my religion must involve sacrifice. If I want to "dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long" (Psalm 23:6) I must find a way to give up the wants that separate me from others — material goods, competition for power, the need to be right. As I listen again to "The Lord Is My Shepherd" I am recommitted to the singular focus of the psalm and the song — because the Lord is the Lord of my life and there is nothing else I need.

And so I pray:

Shepherd, Guide, Savior, show me the way.
Show me how to give up those things that separate me from you . . .
Show me how to give up those things that separate me from others . . .
Help me to dwell with you each day through the sacrifices I am called to make . . .
I know you are my Shepherd, and I shall not want. Amen.

Related Links

• The Seven Deadly Sins as per Gandhiji
• Travels of the Great White Visitor, Busted Halo

Spirit Compass reflections are developed in partnership
with the Center for Ministry Development.