The cup is a bowl shaped vessel that is used to measure approximately eight ounces or about half a pint. However, the word is used in other connotations. It may refer to a person’s portion, share or allotment, such as a cupful of happiness. George Burns used it this way in his song "Auld Lang Syne": 'We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet, For Auld Lang Syne.' Cups are frequently described in song and literature as being filled with good or woe. There are ornamental cups that are used to signify victory in various competitions. The World Cup of soccer, the America’s Cup of yachting, the Wimbledon Cup of tennis, the World Series Cup of baseball, the Pro-Am Cup of golf are examples. Theses cups are very large and ornate and some are on loan to the current champion, and then passed on to the next champion.
Cups also have religious significance, such as the communion cup used to commemorate the Last Supper of Christ and His disciples. The cup that they used is called the Holy Grail, and it has been the subject of song and literature so that it has become an icon. In fact, operas have been based on the futile search for the Holy Grail, and a recent book, "The De Vinci Code," uses the search for the Holy Grail as its main theme.
The Bible uses the cup to describe one's spiritual condition. David’s 23rd Psalm extols his spiritual ecstasy as, "My cup runneth over." In contrast the wickedness that resulted in the extinction of the Canaanites was described as a cup full of iniquity. So it is possible for a person's cup to be full of evil or blessings. But there is a difference in how these cups are filled; cups are filed with iniquity and evil by the person himself, while it is the Lord that fills our cup with blessings. They cannot be filled with a mixture of evil and good for these are mutually exclusive and non-miscible.
Probably the outstanding biblical example of a person who started out with an empty cup that was initially filled with God's blessings, but then became contaminated and finally replaced by self-indulgence and pride, is Solomon. When he became king of Israel, he humbled himself and pleaded with God for the ability to lead His people. He pleaded for wisdom and guidance. He came to God with an empty cup asking for it to be filled. But gradually he wandered away from God. So gradual was his departure and apostasy that he was not aware of his danger. He began to trust more and more in his wealth and in his own strength and less and less in God's guidance. He became unnecessarily involved in political intrigue; he married multiple wives for political purposes, and he allowed pagan worship to invade not only the realm but even his own household. He descended from being one of the wisest of men to being a fool as he took upon himself the glory due to God.
Do you have a heavy burden that discourages and debilitates you? It is not the empty cup that is a burden and that we have difficulty carrying; it is the cup filled to the brim that is heavy and must be carefully balanced. It is wealth and prosperity and "in need of nothing" that is the most dangerous. If our cup is full of selfish pride as was Solomon's, how can we expect Christ to fill it with blessings?
We must come to Jesus with "an empty cup."
