Links for today’s readings:
Mar 17 Read: Ecclesiastes 5 Listen: (2:50) Read: Psalm 55 Listen: (2:43)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 55.12-14; 17-21
12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.
20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.
Reflection: Good Discipleship but Wrong Master
By John Tillman
I recently made a comment on a friend’s post that was misinterpreted. He thought I was disagreeing and saying something political instead of theological.
He felt attacked and he counter-attacked. This friend (a pastor I went to seminary with and ministered with) replied with a meme from the Ace Ventura films of Jim Carey emerging from the rectum of a rhinoceros. The implication was that I, and my opinion (that he imagined I said), were comparable to animal feces
There are two lessons here related to Psalm 55.
One is that friends can hurt you worse than enemies. (Ps 55.12) Online insults and attacks from “trolls,” strangers, or non-human spam bots are distressing, but endurable. Attacks from friends are uniquely disheartening.
The second is that partaking means shaping. The wicked in the psalm were shaped by partaking in violence, strife, threats, and lies. (Ps 55.9-11) War entered the heart of the psalmist’s friend. (Ps 55.21)
There are politicians, podcasters, and pastors with “war” in their hearts. Even official government social media accounts use cruel, insulting memes about serious issues of war and death. And some Christians praise or approve it.
We become like what we behold, especially when we praise it. What many Christians behold and praise is not Christlike. Too many Christians (including pastors) are “discipled” by those peddling politics and pseudo-Christianity with memes, insults, fear, and hatred. It’s good discipleship, but the wrong master.
I gently confronted my friend (though I wanted to respond in anger) and he apologized, removing the offensive comment. But this isn’t about me or him or right or left. Whatever theological or political tribe you listen to has vitriolic voices and we are susceptible to becoming like them. We are being attacked by algorithms that are financially motivated to form echo-chambers and sow war into our hearts.
Christians should excel in love, not unkindness. We should excel in respect, not vitriol. Instead of throwing insulting punchlines, we should extend lifelines of engagement and care. We do not have to let go of orthodoxy to be loving, kind, and respectful. We can hold both.
We must be shaped by scripture, not culture, follow Jesus, not political leaders, and embrace truth and truth-tellers, not lies and lie-sellers.
Be prepared for yourself and others to fail. Be prepared to repent and to forgive. And when you are hurt, say with the psalmist, “as for me, I trust in you.” (Ps 55.23)
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me. — Psalm 70.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Praising Christ’s Righteousness
Imagine hanging our hopes on a great leader, only to watch him or her fall…Most of us don’t have to imagine it. It has happened.
Read more: Unsurprising Oppression
The teacher of Ecclesiastes and Jesus, the teacher of Galilee would be shocked to find their words abused as excusing poverty and oppression.