They are friendly to my face,
but they curse me in their hearts.
Psalm 62:4
In this grouping of Psalms, it seems like David is being constantly hunted. King Saul is chasing. Enemy armies are advancing. He's exhausted. Discouraged.
But today's verse reflects the greatest kind of enemy -- the one who is "friendly to [your] face but ... curse[s you] in their hearts."
Have you ever been stabbed in the back? Have you ever been stepped on? Have you ever been climbed over on the ladder of success ... and you still have the cleat marks up and down your spine to prove it?
That hurts more. We expect our enemies to shoot at us, but not the people we thought were our friends (or were at least civil). Gossip. Slander. Lies. It hurts.
David's solution to attacks and betrayals is his trust in God: "My ... honor come[s] from God alone. He is my refuge."
That's the first and obvious point from today's lesson: It's God's assessment of you that matters most. And if God is justifying you, you don't have to justify yourself. His opinion, trust, and protection matter more than the world's. That's the first point.
Here's the second: Stop it!
Sometimes to make ourselves look better in the eyes of the world (or to help us feel better about ourselves), we are the ones who gossip. With a saccharine "Bless her heart," we find ways to undermine and besmirch a coworker or neighbor. Stop it.
If God loves you, and he does, don't tear down another person so you'll feel better about yourself. And if God loves the other person, and he does, don't tear down the other person so you'll feel better about yourself. That's how you become an enemy of God. Yikes!
In Christ's Love,
a guy who resolves
to make amends for
any cleat marks
I've left on others
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