Living in The Spirit

August 27, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 26:1-8

Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked. –Psalm 26:1-5

And then came Jesus Christ.

We are wise to call on the Lord to test our hearts for our integrity. We are foolish when we set the standards for righteousness by our own measure or the norms of our culture.

Who do you think Jesus would have dubbed worthless? Would he not have said Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore*? I think he could have and might have added let me know what difference a little love can mean for them.

Jesus was hard on hypocrites, but he did not shy away from dialogue with them. The four gospels record 16 times when Jesus chastised the self-righteous for their hypocrisy. Learning to speak to others about difficult issues is an art that must be supported by love.

Evildoers and the wicked could be what we classify as criminals today. In Matthew 25, Jesus states that we are to visit prisoners, and that suggests to me that the purpose of those visits was not only to bring them food for their bodies but to work with them toward the restoration of their souls.

In general, evildoers and the wicked are those who do harm to others for their own gain, are dangerous to society, and are often skilled at never getting caught. Their cunning can be attractive, and they are often the merchants of the idols we worship today like greed and lust for power. These people, too, must be confronted as Elijah confronted the priest of idols in his day. And, yes, they also need soul restoration.

Prayer: Lord, we pray for you to search us, help us see our shortcomings, and correct them. Help us also to not claim our righteousness based on our judging others. Amen.

*From the poem, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus engraved on Statue Of Liberty National Monument

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.