Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2022): Psalms 120 & 121
American Philosopher and poet
Criss Jami argues that "Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it
isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere
portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction." Jami
is right; there is nothing more destructive than slander that contains a seed
of truth. As a kid, I remember an adult that walked up to me in church with the
announcement, "you will never guess what I heard about you." I have
to admit that I was in terror. I didn't know what she could have heard. More
importantly, I couldn't think of anything I had done that was important enough
for this adult to be told. Which meant there was a story going around the
church, the contents of which I had no idea and maybe wasn't even true. And,
even as a kid, I was horrified by the thought. After a couple of minutes of
having this adult tease me with the knowledge that she knew about me, she
finally let me in on the punch line. The hiccups I had been suffering at the
beginning of the conversation were gone. And she was right.
Decades later, I had a similar experience,
but it wasn't a harmless gag to get rid of my hiccups. I began to be aware that
there were stories circulating about me of which I was not aware. I came to
suspect that the stories centered around a possible moral failure. And it
wasn't just restricted to one person. It existed on the level of innuendo.
Nothing concrete, at least to my knowledge, was ever produced. And even though
no one ever told me what they believed about me, I felt damaged by the slander.
I still don't know what they thought, but I am pretty sure that it was untrue
(since I don't know what the charge is, I don't know for sure, and I cannot
defend myself from the accusation). Maybe the tale was nothing more than an
excuse for some other unknown action.
Gossip is rampant in the church.
And people seem willing to believe almost anything negative that is said about
almost anybody. There might be some comfort in knowing that the slanderous
things being said are untrue, that they come "from lying lips and from deceitful tongues." But
that does not mean that the slander of others is innocent. It is dangerous and
brings destruction to the objects of the defamation.
The
Psalmist understands that destruction, so he cries out to God for salvation
from those who lie and deceive. At some point in most of our lives, that is our
cry as well. There will always be those who want to bring us down. But even if
everyone around us believes the lie, God knows the truth, and we can lean on
him for our salvation.
Today's Scripture Reading: Psalm
126
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