Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1
Every verse in Psalm 136 points to a truth listed elsewhere in Scripture. The genius of this meditation is the writer’s commitment to turn these truths into praise. Insight is not enough. Obedience is not enough. Knowing about God is not enough. We are called to worship.
Why: The command to worship raises questions, starting with, “Why?”. C.S. Lewis once worried that the Bible’s instruction to praise God suggested that, “God was a megalomaniac,” who needed adulation to fuel His ego. He later realized that God did not need our affirmation any more than Lewis needed his dog “to bark approval of my books”. We are not instructed to worship God in order to prop Him up. We are instructed to worship God because it is the only sane response to who God is. Also, we are prodded to worship God because in doing so, it helps rightly order our loves – which is a requirement for a life rightly lived.
Email Boycott: In 1990, celebrated mathematician (and Turing Award winner) Donald Knuth retired from email. A few years ago he celebrated that decision, noting that “15 years of email was plenty for one lifetime.” Knuth went on to add, “Email is wonderful for people whose role is to be on top of things, but my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration.”
Avoiding Quarrels: According to recent surveys, 93% of Americans believe we have a civility problem, and 63% think the anonymity of social media makes it worse. Reminder: Jesus calls us to go directly to those with whom we disagree (Mt 5:23f; 18:15). Imagine if everyone chose “to speak evil of no one, avoided quarreling, was gentle, and showed perfect courtesy toward all people” (Mt. 5:23f, 18:1 and Titus 3:2).
Quotes Worth ReQuoting: When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly that evil is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good; a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. C.S. Lewis
RIP: Christopher Tolkien – the youngest son of J.R.R., and the editor of his posthumously published works since his death in 1973 – has died.
Without Comment:
- The percentage of Democrats and Republicans who would be displeased if their child married someone of the opposite party has escalated tenfold since 1960.
- Since Roe v. Wade became law, nearly sixty-two million babies have been aborted in America. Last year’s number of 862K was the lowest number since abortion became legal.
- According to the World Economic Forum, “religious Americans volunteer more, give more and give more often, not only to religious, but secular causes as well. Among Americans who give to any cause, 55 percent claim religious values as an important motivator for giving.”
A Correction: Last week I lamented some changing “morays” – see here. This led several alert readers to highlight my error. The most clever responded: When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amoré; When you swim in the creek and an eel bites your cheek, that’s a moray. I am not likely to forget it. BTW, when discussing cultural norms, it’s neither amoré nor moray, it’s morés.
Dr. King’s Legacy: Fifty years after his death, most now view MLK as a political leader fighting for civil rights. Yes, but he was also much more. If you listen to what he said, you hear him calling people to Christ-centered faith as the basis for a “beloved community.”
For more than three centuries American Negroes have been battered by the iron rod of oppression, frustrated by day and bewildered by night by unbearable injustice, and burdened with the ugly weight of discrimination.
Forced to live with these shameful conditions, we are tempted to become bitter and to retaliate with a corresponding hate. But if this happens, the new order we seek will be little more than a duplicate of the old order. We must in strength and humility meet hate with love.
Of course, this is not practical: Life is a matter of getting even, of hitting back, of dog-eat-dog. Am I saying that Jesus commands us to love those who hurt and oppress us? Do I sound like most preachers — idealistic and impractical? You say, “Maybe in some distant Utopia that idea will work, but not in the hard, cold world in which we live.”
My friends, we have followed the so-called practical way for too long a time now, and it has led inexorably to deeper confusion and chaos. Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities which surrendered to hatred and violence. For the salvation of our nation and the salvation of mankind, we must follow another way. This does not mean that we abandon our righteous efforts. With every ounce of our energy, we must continue to rid this nation of the incubus of segregation. But in the process, we shall not relinquish our privilege and our obligation to love. While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community.
To our most bitter opponents, we say: “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.
Pray for China: Things are deteriorating for Christians in China. Missionaries are leaving (or being kicked out); Sunday School classes are being closed; and in some areas, house meetings (i.e., Bible Studies) with more than five people are being forbidden.
Institutional Focus: I’ve noticed a growing movement in defense of institutions. Yuval Levin’s recent NYT’s piece – How Did America Lose Faith in Everything? – should be added to that list. I agree with much of what Levin writes, but I think he misses the main point. In Charles Malik’s A Christian Critique of the University, Malik argues that seven institutions shape the world – the family, the church, the state, the marketplace, the professions, the media, and the university. He then argues that the University is the most important because it shapes the other six. Much has changed since A Christian Critique was published, and I am not sure Malik’s thesis holds up. However, the bigger point is, since he wrote the book, two institutions have lost ground – the family and the church – and two have gained – the state and the marketplace. It’s not just that we need strong institutions. We need the right institutions to grow stronger.
Closing Prayer: Grant me, even me, my dearest Lord, to know you, and love you, and rejoice in you. And, if I cannot do these perfectly in this life, let me at least advance to higher degrees every day, until I can come to do them in perfection. Let the knowledge of you increase in me here, that it may be full hereafter. Let the love of you grow every day more and more here, that it may be perfect hereafter; that my joy may be full in you. I know, O God, that you are a God of truth, O make good your gracious promises to me, that my joy may be full; to your honor and glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Augustine)