Speak Against Me

2016-01-30

Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. (Psalms 119:23)

We live in a turbulent time in our country. Through the years, I always thought to myself that no matter how bad things got, it was always better than in many other parts of the world torn apart by civil war and poverty. For the most part, I still believe that to be true today.

However, reading the news, you sort of begin to see how divided our country has become. This may be true, and a lot of it may be the media’s illusion. I am not sure, but it is scary. Regarding the election coming at year’s end, the candidates seem both dangerous and also ignorant of America’s true problems.

Here, the psalmist says that “princes also did sit and speak against me.” If we just had this half of the verse, we may think that he was intimidated by these political leaders who had power to do him harm. As Christians, we have the same problem today. Washington, Hollywood, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, the news media, academic institutions, and any other power out there, all think we are a joke. To them, we are stupid, backwards, ignorant people who live in the past and believe Bronze Age myth. They point their tongues at us and belittle us.

That being said, we could be left second guessing that our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is backwards and ineffective. However, we cannot forget the second half of the verse: “but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.” Their words against us will always remain powerless because they are the words of mortal humankind. We have God’s Word, the promises of the Gospel, and eternal life. We have the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit within and among us. We have the hope beyond this life, and this changes our perspective.

When the powers of this world team up on us, we have to keep our mission in the forefront: live a life pleasing to God, help others, and share the Gospel everywhere. The Word of God is forever, and the words of humanity will pass away for all time.