Psalm 15: A Psalm of David. Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
Trust Bruh Dave to ask some insightful question, then provide answers that appear easy, but in the harsh glare of real life, are fairly difficult. In Psalm 15, he’s talking about qualifications for a church worker, but in the light of Jesus teaching, I feel they are qualities we should all have to consider ourselves true followers of Christ. Bruh Dave starts out by saying it needs someone whose walk is upright, who is righteous and has truth in his heart. Now shouldn’t that apply to all of us? Of course! We all need to uphold high standards of personal purity and integrity. That’s just Jesus’ way. Neither should a person be a backbiter with his tongue. Hn! Oh Friends, how many times are many of us guilty of that eh? Say one thing to a person’s face, then something else behind their back. Too often. And we know we shouldn’t do it, yet we persist. Then Bruh Dave talks about doing evil to our neighbours, and ranting and raving against them. We also know we shouldn’t do those things. Jesus said we should do evil to no one, but should love our enemies and neighbours as our selves. True, that’s not always easy, especially with some of the aggressive and ignorant enemies and neighbours some of us have. But it’s a standard to which we should all aspire, as good, practising Christians. The next qualification, condemning or despising a coarse, vulgar, disgusting person, while honouring those who fear the Lord needs a little reworking, I think. Remember, Bruh Dave lived long before Jesus, and the Old Testament system had a harsher, black or white, no shades of grey approach. But Jesus came with a softer, more loving, less exclusive approach. He came to save sinners, so caring only about God fearing persons wasn’t good enough for Him. We shouldn’t praise or encourage them, but find some way to make them change their ways, to bring them into the fold. Guess He believed that you caught more flies with honey than vinegar, and we must not be too judgemental of so called wrongdoers, since all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and all have some kind of beam in our eyes. (smile) A further requirement is to stand by our word, our promise, not try to welch or weasel out, even though it causes us pain. Neither should we lend money at exorbitant rates, or take financial advantage of those who don’t fully understand the complexity of transactions in which they are involved. Yes Friends, it’s a long list, with high standards, but that’s what our Leader, Jesus, demands of us. And as Bruh Dave so eloquently put it, ‘He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ Oh People, let’s aim to be amongst the unmoveable ones nuh. We can do it if we try. Much LOVE!…no calling can be successful…unless it aspires to lofty goals…
Trust Bruh Dave to ask some insightful question, then provide answers that appear easy, but in the harsh glare of real life, are fairly difficult. In Psalm 15, he’s talking about qualifications for a church worker, but in the light of Jesus teaching, I feel they are qualities we should all have to consider ourselves true followers of Christ. Bruh Dave starts out by saying it needs someone whose walk is upright, who is righteous and has truth in his heart. Now shouldn’t that apply to all of us? Of course! We all need to uphold high standards of personal purity and integrity. That’s just Jesus’ way. Neither should a person be a backbiter with his tongue. Hn! Oh Friends, how many times are many of us guilty of that eh? Say one thing to a person’s face, then something else behind their back. Too often. And we know we shouldn’t do it, yet we persist. Then Bruh Dave talks about doing evil to our neighbours, and ranting and raving against them. We also know we shouldn’t do those things. Jesus said we should do evil to no one, but should love our enemies and neighbours as our selves. True, that’s not always easy, especially with some of the aggressive and ignorant enemies and neighbours some of us have. But it’s a standard to which we should all aspire, as good, practising Christians. The next qualification, condemning or despising a coarse, vulgar, disgusting person, while honouring those who fear the Lord needs a little reworking, I think. Remember, Bruh Dave lived long before Jesus, and the Old Testament system had a harsher, black or white, no shades of grey approach. But Jesus came with a softer, more loving, less exclusive approach. He came to save sinners, so caring only about God fearing persons wasn’t good enough for Him. We shouldn’t praise or encourage them, but find some way to make them change their ways, to bring them into the fold. Guess He believed that you caught more flies with honey than vinegar, and we must not be too judgemental of so called wrongdoers, since all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and all have some kind of beam in our eyes. (smile) A further requirement is to stand by our word, our promise, not try to welch or weasel out, even though it causes us pain. Neither should we lend money at exorbitant rates, or take financial advantage of those who don’t fully understand the complexity of transactions in which they are involved. Yes Friends, it’s a long list, with high standards, but that’s what our Leader, Jesus, demands of us. And as Bruh Dave so eloquently put it, ‘He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ Oh People, let’s aim to be amongst the unmoveable ones nuh. We can do it if we try. Much LOVE!…no calling can be successful…unless it aspires to lofty goals…
SCRIP-BITS 