Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. – Psalm 62:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 4, 2013): Psalm 62

Last week I attended a conference and, as usual, I find two groups of people that attend these functions. The first are those that have something to say and feel that people should listen to them. With this group of people, it is never about the exchange of stories. It is always about their ability to tell you their story. And once the story has been told, their ears close and they go off to look for places where they can tell their story one more time.

The second group of people are the ones that deep down really do not believe that anything that they may have to say is of any consequence to anyone. So they are generally the ones that sit quietly and listen to the first group. But the problem is that with every story that the first group tells them, the gap widens – and the misconception that the second group does not have a story worthy of being told becomes more and more entrenched inside of them. And so the second group starts to engage in a battle of significance - and with each fight find the misconception just becomes more underscored.

David writes that the “lowborn are but as breath.” This seems to be a thought that kings have had for centuries. Those of low status were also ones born without significance. And, therefore, traditionally the kings spent very little time considering the challenges of those born without status. Some national religions entrenched the idea, asserting that those born without status had stumbled in a former life and now were paying penance for their sin. So for David to speak of the worthlessness of the low born would not have been a surprise to anyone. But David does not stop there. He goes on to say that the lives of the highborn are but lie. The image here is that the lives of the lowborn are but a vapor, one which exists and can be seen for the moment, but then quickly disappears. But the highborn are deluding themselves that that is not their reality – that their reality is somehow more substantive. And David asserts that this is not the truth. In fact, if both the lives of the lowborn and those of the highborn were placed on a scale – with nothing on the other side – the scale would not move. In some way, all of our stories are simply meaningless.

For the Christian, our stories only begin to take significance when we begin to be transformed into the image of Christ - when we start to take on his form, leaving judgment and status behind, and reaching out to each other in love. In fact, our lives may be without substance, but the weight of our love would crush any scale.

In our world, love is the only story that needs to be told – and the only story that gives to our lives any meaning. And when we come to the end of this life, the only question that we need to ask is this one - “how well did we love?”   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 65