when no harm has been done to you.
Do not envy the violent
and do not choose any of their ways;
for the perverse are an abomination to the Lord,
but the upright are in his confidence.
The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favor.
The wise will inherit honor,
but stubborn fools, disgrace.” NRSV
Most people I know are aware that I work in an elementary school. We live in a rather rural city which has a preponderance of low income families. Unfortunately, we also have a very large number of blended families. Many of our students don’t live with both of their parents; often children are actually bounced back and forth between two homes, even though the parents may live only a few minutes away from each other. And because these parents’ lives are already on overload, the parents often expect their children to take on adult responsibilities and commitments.
Yesterday, I took my first, second, and third grade music students on a field trip. It’s an annual event and one that we had excessively “advertised” for the entire semester. Yet, there were still children who didn’t get to go because their parents hadn’t taken the responsibility to sign the permission slip. It makes me sad for the children. And my usually response is to bag on the parents to other staff members.
I shouldn’t be doing that. First off, I don’t know the situation. Perhaps, if I were there, I would be as absent-minded and seemingly inconsiderate as they are. Secondly, the Lord loves those parents—even if they are being foolish—as much as He loves me. To speak meanly of someone else seems to me to be as violent as hitting them, and I’m admonished not to be violent, not to choose those ways.
The fact is, if I were brutally honest (which is how I need to be with myself), I would admit that at least part of my anger and frustration at these parents is that they are breaking up my chorus on a performance day. I had two kids with speaking parts who weren’t there because their parents didn’t sign the permission slips. Not at all charitable of me. (At least this year I knew enough not to let my anger be expressed in front of the children.) Yes, it also angers me that people are inconsiderate of their children who have no control over the situation. But, I also get angry because things don’t go the way I expect them to go.
I need to learn to be more loving, more forgiving.
There is a comparison in this passage between the scornful and the humble. The dictionary defines “scorn” as the “open dislike and disrespect often mixed with indignation.” Well, why do I get indignant? Most often because someone has stepped on my toes, ruined my plans, made me change what I wanted to do. It seems that scorn is a lot about what I want and not at all about loving, giving, ministering to those around me.
On the other hand, the dictionary defines “humble” as “not arrogant or assertive.” In other words, it seems to be a comparison—scornful and humble—between someone who wants/demands their own way and someone who is willing to let others have their way.
If scornful is wanting your own way, then God says (my very loose paraphrase) that if we demand our own way, ultimately, He will get His way regardless of what we want. In other words, He wins.
Well, yeah. That seems like something I should obviously know. And yet, how often do I try to fight against God? (Isn’t that absurd? Like I could win?)
I see being humble as being willing to be God-centered. And God is people-centered. So ultimately, my humility should bring me to the place where I’m willing for others to have their way (again and again and again) and trust God to take care of me, rather than trying to get what I need (or want) and focusing on that.
The promises in this for the believer who trusts Him are amazing:
• The upright are in His confidence
• He blesses the abode of the righteous
• To the humble He shows favor
• The wise will inherit honor
I wonder why I spend so much time trying to get for me when He has already promised that, when I trust Him, He will do it for me?
© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).
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