Thoughts for the Day

Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?
All day long you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down for ever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
‘See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!’

But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
for ever and ever.
I will thank you for ever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Our world seems in turmoil these days, not just from wars but from the way people communicate and behave towards one another. In the Elections in Britain recently those hoping to be elected to Parliament seemed to feel that it was quite alright to say anything negative and to make huge assumptions about the motives of those who opposed them. Many of the public were quite content to copy them, accusing MP's of everything short of outright murder. Sometimes, as in the US, this can lead to violence. Evil can start with such small seeds!

Our passage of scripture shows how the sharing of a confidence leads to violence, and in a massacre. Psalm 52 is titled: 'To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”  King Saul had been seeking to kill David, and when the Edomite comes to him boasting that he has been told that David was helped by Ahimelech, the King orders Doeg to kill the priest and his whole community, some 85 people.

David does not rail and rage against Doeg (though he questions why he is boasting), instead he contemplates the bigger picture, believing that God will deal with the Edomite in His own time. Then he reaffirms his faith in God and in His ways.

If evil can grow and feed on the smallest of things we too need to consider our words and assumptions about others, lest we encourage negative statements to flourish and so fan the flames into something much bigger. After all the tiniest spark can set a blaze on fire!

Lord Jesus Christ,
may we not accidentally or deliberately
fan the flames of gossip, suspicion or rumour,
so that we feed the roots of evil
and allow it to spread in our society and world.
Help us to edit our thoughts
before they become words or actions,
and seek always to sow the seeds of peace.
Amen.