So we picked up the conversation in Psalm 52 this week in our series, Raw Worship. We are investigating what happens when worship and life collide, or what should happen when worship and life collide. It is inevitable that we are going to be faced with all kinds of circumstances, good, bad, and everything in between. The question must be then, how are we going to respond to God in the midst of these circumstances.
Dean Mellen once again picked up and smashed it out of the park. If you weren’t there and if you were unable to hear Dean, make sure you jump over here and listen… Then, jump in the conversation, let’s interact with each others thoughts and comments… See we are better together than we are apart. There is so much I can learn from you guys, and so much you can learn from each other!
Here are this weeks questions/comments with response from Dean…
1. A cruel and calculating slash of the tongue is far more painful and devastating than a wild and angry strike of the fist!
The difference between the tongue and the hand is the depth of the hurt that can be done.
When we strike someone with our hand, it causes physical pain. Physical injuries heal in a relatively short time, if the injury is not too severe. But, the tongue has the possibility of leaving what can almost be permanent damage. The damage done by the tongue can cause emotional, psychological, and/or mental anguish. Those types of damage do not heal quickly, if ever. With God’s help we can learn to forgive those who hurt us with their tongue.
When I was growing up we used to sing, “
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me“. That is not true. The emotional scars that come from the tongue usually have far longer lasting results than what physical injuries carry with them. I agree that the tongue is far more painful and devastating than the hand. Paul agreed. Thatis why we rad in
Colossians 4:6 “
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
2. We answered how do we respond to God in tragedy, but how do we respond to those who caused the tragedy?
David called upon God to deal with them according to their sin. He called down God’s judgment upon them. When we are in the midst of terrible tragedy, we tend to respond emotionally. Our first reaction may be to ask God to judge the sinner for his great sin.
Jesus taught us that as soon as we are able to, we need to move to forgiveness. When Jesus was on the cross (
Luke 23) He said, “
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Stephen was being stoned to death (
Acts 7) and he responded, “
Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”
This is not an easy thing to do, but it has been modeled in the Bible, and repeated time and time again by the saints over the centuries. With some of the mass murders that have been committed in the last decade, there are many stories of believers who responded in love when their children or loved ones were tragicly murdered.
Only by God’s grace will we know how to respond when we are confronted by a terrible tragedy.
Carry the conversation…
~Peter
