Scripture: Psalm 101:1-3
I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing. I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
Thought for the Day: In his 1962 Yale University commencement address, John F. Kennedy said, “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” Fifty years have past since those words were offered, but they remain just as stinging to our current culture that appears to allow baseless opinion to hold equal authority to that of well researched scientific fact. Well financed corporate interest or blind ideology can blow a thick enough smoke to have many unable to see the truth or the agendas of those who are blowing the smoke. The ancient words of the Psalmist challenge us to “walk with integrity of heart” and to be cautious not to set before our “eyes anything that is base” (good for nothing). To be ethical and virtuous people, we must do two things – First, look honestly within ourselves to discover our own skewed motives created by fear and insecurity. Such emotions will have us abandoning truth at the first sign of something that blesses our fears and insecurities. Second, we need to research and challenge ideas that we read and hear. And for us as Christians, this is especially important if we desire to maintain any moral authority. A lot of so-called faithful people ‘Christianize‘ their self-serving schemes in the hope that no one actually does any research. I’m embarrassed by Christian articles that reference research that is either unexplored opinion or outright lies. I see it way too often. As Christians, we must be the first to put new found truth above some narrow ideology or doctrine. We should willingly engage it with a faithful heart. And in doing so, we often find the Good News coming alive in a way that we never would have previously imagined.
Prayer: You are magnificent, O God, and we give you thanks as you continue to stretch our thinking… yet doing so within the freedom provided by your grace. Amen.
Join Us This Sunday
Pastor Bruce will explore
the Prophet Elijah
(The first of three weeks)
