Living in the Spirit
September 14, 2022
Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-2, 34-38
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
when he killed them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
Their heart was not steadfast towards him;
they were not true to his covenant.
Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
My family took the commandment thou shall not lie very seriously. I learned that at a very young age. As I read the phrase from the scripture above, they lied to him with their tongues, the thought that flashed through my mind was how does one lie to God? If God is all-knowing, God knows the truth better than we do. God even knows all the circumstances that led up to the lie and how others involved understand the lie. In reality, when we lie, we are most often lying to ourselves. We do not want to face some reality. We do not want to project a negative aspect of ourselves to others. In John 8:31-32, Jesus addresses this issue, Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
Our culture forces some people to lie about who they are. This is best illustrated by how society treats persons who identify as lgbtqia2s+. The list gets longer as more and more people begin to accept themselves as they are. I await the time when we realize that all people are people created in the image of God and we would need a unique initial for everyone. I have never understood why people are so afraid of what they consider to be the other regarding sexuality. I particularly do not understand the bathroom thing. A transexual girl or boy is probably the last person who would assault a biological girl or boy.
We get so caught up in judging each other by the world’s ideals that we forget we are all children of God. I became very tired of hearing the phrase, God does not make junk when it was popular. I now think we might want to dust it off and follow its wisdom. Part of the problem is the misunderstanding and the misuse of our sexuality that results in out-of-control attitudes and actions that are demeaning and damaging to our self-worth as individuals and the way we take advantage of others.
Prayer: Lord, help us see your image in each person we meet along the way. Amen.
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.