Beside

You have made [humans] a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet. – Psalm 8:5-6 (NRSV) 

Some people think everything’s a zero-sum game, that there’s not enough of anything to go around. If I assert that Black lives matter, they assume I must think that other lives don’t, since life-mattering is a rare resource. If you extend the right to marry to same-sex couples, they think you must be somehow taking that right from somebody else, since marriage is in extremely short supply. 

The psalmist makes a related claim here: humans have some glory, and the way you know they have glory is that they have dominion over others. The only way to be glorified is to climb to the top of the pile, stepping on fingers and faces all the way up. Glory can only be amassed, apparently, and only by domination. I shine; you grovel. The glorious look around at the life of the world, and all they see is footstools. Glory is rare, and it only exists on high. 

Then there’s God. Sometimes God’s glory shines from on high, sure, and you can look for it there if you want. But if I were you, I wouldn’t look up; I’d look around: at a pregnant girl living in poverty, at people on the run with all their possessions on their backs, in the brokenness of the family down the block, between the cracks in the floor of a shanty, between the toes of the homeless guy outside your car window. If I really wanted to see God’s glory, I might even get down on my knees and look into a grave. 

Prayer
For glory that shines below and beside, thank you. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.