Today's Meditation
Read Psalm 15
1O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
2Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;
3who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
4in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.
We are ever growing in our spiritual walk; living up to God's expectations for us. The psalmist lays out three goals to attain in verse 2 and 3.
First to walk blamelessly, in other words, to work on a daily living that is innocent of wrongdoing.
Taking that a step further, do what is right. Making the effort not just to keep from doing wrong, but then to actively do the right thing.
Speak truth from your heart. This phrase is however often used as a weapon to judge others, but that use doesn't fit with the rest of what is required by these two verses. Instead, speaking truth from your heart should be about your own truth, about being truthful in what you say to others.
Do not slander with their tongue. Slander means to make false or damaging statements about another person to destroy or ruin a person's reputation. This one is nearly non-existent in our public rhetoric today. We used to hold our leaders to higher standards than we do currently, but that should not give us permission to sink to their ways and allow this to creep into our own daily lives.
Do no evil to their friends. I should hope not. Friendship is to be cherished and groomed for care and concern, for support and love.
But that circle of care and concern should be ever growing as the psalmist follows it directly with to not take up a reproach against their neighbors. Live peaceably with them. And Jesus later explained in a parable who our neighbors are, because people didn't understand that our neighbors wasn't meant as a literal understanding. Our neighbors are also those live in other areas/countries/regions, who might be different, and perhaps even enemies.
No comments:
Post a Comment