Don't Get Distracted - A Reflection on Psalm 11

Usually I think that being informed is a good thing.  When we know better we can do better.  But I admit that these days there seems to be so much "news" - some of which is fact, much of which is observation, and the majority appears to be opinion - that being informed is more confusing than clarifying.

The conversation that is clogging the airwaves concerns reopening.  Which states, counties, towns, businesses, churches etc. are doing it when and how.  Is it too soon?  Is it too slow?  Is it safe? Who's doing it wrong and who's doing it right?  Who values life more than money or money more than life? And who gets to chose - which is a privilege ironically denied to those we deem "essential".

It's all more than a bit scary, and surprisingly is causing me more anxiety than the initial outbreak of Covid 19 when we didn't know what it was but at least we all seemed aligned that it was bad and we wanted to stop it.   But now that we have bought ourselves some time by "flattening the curve" and feel more confident in our ability to cope with the reality that Covid 19 is going to be with us for the long haul, we appear to be turning much of our energy to judging other's reaction to the virus - particularly if it doesn't align with our own world view.

We naturally assume, or at least hope, that our personal perspective is righteous, and that those who behave in ways that don't align with our thinking are wrong, ignorant, misguided, selfish or just plain bad people.  Do they want to infect people? Do they want businesses to fail and people to lose their jobs and ability to feed their families?

The psalmist reminds us however that God sees all of what's going on, loves what is right and hates what is wrong.  And that God makes sure that wickedness is not rewarded.  Although it might seem to us that they are getting away with something, we can trust that they are not because God's got this.

"He will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup".  

Sounds a bit like Santa Claus.  He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, and if you're misbehaving you can expect coal in your stocking at Christmas, so be good for goodness sake!  In modern times I don't know of anyone who's actually received coal for Christmas, but I can appreciate the sentiment that one should be good "for goodness sake" - not just for the reward.  And similarly, those who choose not to be good will suffer the natural consequences of that decision.  In God's time.  I can't control that.  And I shouldn't let it distract me from doing what I believe is right.

God calls us to "love our neighbor" and defines our neighbor as everyone.  Those we know and those we don't.  Those we like and those we don't - and even those who don't like us.  The psalmist reminds us that we are free to focus on doing that, which occasionally may mean that we're called to care for those who have been victimized by the wickedness of other people or unjust systems.  That takes a lot of courage and energy.  It can be tempting to instead focus our energy on judging and criticizing the wrongdoer.  But is that really doing the "good" that God loves?

Lord, help me to keep focused on helping the poor, the widow, the orphan, the vulnerable, the sick, the needy, the marginalized - the victims.  Help me to trust that you see the wicked and to believe that although some days it seems that they may be winning, goodness and righteousness will prevail.  Particularly if I keep my eyes on the prize.  Amen.