But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?” – Psalm 50:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 28, 2019): Psalm 50

Louisa May Alcott in “Little Women” writes “I like good strong words that mean something…” Maybe the most crucial part of the phrase are those final words – “that mean something.” Because the truth is that not all words, even good strong words, mean something. To many, our words are just noises that fill the space that surrounds us. We speak words that will make us look good. Or we speak words that will make someone else, usually someone in power, like us. Listen to a newscast, and you are likely to hear the question asked, “Is what you are saying what you believe, or are they simply words spoken to please someone else.” The problem is that with those same strong words that we reveal the truth, we can also mislead or even outright lie.

Maybe one of the advantages of living in a post-Christian world is that Christian words are beginning to lose their political significance. Yes, some will still pretend that they live a Christian life for some sort of political gain, but the advantage is steadily growing less. And maybe in this, we are returning to the reality that the first generation of Christians understood perfectly; to admit that you were a Christian was to experience very real loss in this world, but the knowledge that you were counted among those who followed a very real God who had given up even more for us.

The Psalmist places these words into the mouth of God, spoken to a wicked person. “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?” The essence of these words are “how dare you speak my words if you are unwilling to live a life that honors me.” Words are not enough, even if they are strong words. In fact, increasingly, we need fewer Christian or religious words in our culture, and more lives that reflect the demands that God has placed on us. We need to talk less about justice and work more towards justice in the unjust areas of our word. We need to speak less of righteousness and work more toward living out righteousness in our lives. We need fewer affirmations of love and more acts of love and kindness to those who are around us. And maybe I can get even more radical. We need fewer words about Christ, and more being Christ to those who are far from God who are all around us.

We need to commit that we will be the people who will not just recite the laws and covenants of God, but who will live out those laws before all those who watch us every day.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 73