Psalms – Prayers of Honesty and Praise
When someone stops talking to you, they are most likely talking about you behind your back. It is a human condition that God calls gossip and slander. It is a sin that breaks God’s heart. Oh how, He must shake his head at our ease of partaking in this worldly sport that destroys relationships and stumps our Spiritual growth.
God’s heart is broken even more when the gossip escalates to bulling someone in the crowd who considers them weak. Like animals prey on the weak, humans resort to this same tactic which they think will give them power and confidence as they climb to the top of the hill. Have you ever played “King of the Hill” as a child? The object of the game is to slay everyone who gets in your way, knocking them down to the ground so you can run up the hill and shout “I’m King of the Hill”!
Playing this game, along with Red Rover, has been outlawed at most schools because of physical hurt that it can cause. So, we now resort to emotional abuse. We pick on each others weak spots until they bleed or fight back. Or worse yet, we completely ignore someone who seems different than you. A person who is made to feel nonexistent begins to believe they have no value or reason to live or they fight back. We have seen the results of what bullying can do in our schools and other places where people gather.
One simple act of kindness could stop a future catastrophe. One word of encouragement could change the outlook and environment for another human. People push kids to climb the hill of academia without teaching then how to care for each other, which begins at home. In God’s eyes, the one who is least is the greatest. For example, the one who will sacrifice teasing of his/her peer group and sit with the kid in the cafeteria at lunch with whom everyone else avoids is God’s champion. What are we training our kids to BE?
Gossipers are liars. If they can’t find a weakness they will invent one. They will take what little they know and spin it in a negative way. This, too, breaks the heart of God who loves us just the way we are but longs to take us to higher, greater thoughts with adventures in joining Him in His work. Leave the world stuff, like gossip and lying, behind.
All these thoughts are swirling in my mind as I read Psalm 120. I can feel the broken heart of the writer. He is calling on God to help him wade through the high waters of gossipers and liars. He is crying out to God to help him as he “camps among quarreling neighbors.” The writer is crying out for peace.God is indeed the One and Only “King of the Hill”. He is God and we are not. We don’t have to knock anyone down to get to Him. We simply stand in His Presence. He bends down to us to hear. We look up to Him. He takes all our brokenness and restores us to health. He forgives and sets us free. He gives us the gift of peace.
Psalm 120, The Message
A Pilgrim Song
1-2 I’m in trouble. I cry to God,
desperate for an answer:
“Deliver me from the liars, God!
They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth.”
3-4 Do you know what’s next, can you see what’s coming,
all you barefaced liars?
Pointed arrows and burning coals
will be your reward.
5-7 I’m doomed to live in Meshech,
cursed with a home in Kedar,
My whole life lived camping
among quarreling neighbors.
I’m all for peace, but the minute
I tell them so, they go to war!
Our Father in Heaven,
Thank you for hearing our cries for help in troubled times. Thank for friends who come alongside us and encourage us in Your Name. Thank you for your forgiveness of all our sins. Thank you for your confidence in us, your creation, your masterpiece of a much larger work of art. Go with us this day as I know you will.
In Jesus Name, Amen
AND WHATEVER YOU DO…
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:12-17)
We are subjects of the King of kings and LORD of lords. May we behave as we say we believe…In Jesus Name.
