Shutting the Mouths of Liars

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

As I began this morning with prayer, I opened to the psalms and prayed with Psalms 63 & 64. Psalm 63 is a psalm about ardent longing for God; thinking of Him day and night, yearning and thirsting for Him. But the last three verses of this psalm switch the focus of this topic rather starkly:

“But those who seek my life will come to ruin; they shall go down to the depths of the earth! They shall be handed over to the sword and become the prey of jackals! But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by the Lord shall exult, for the mouths of the liars will be shut!” Psalm 63:10-12

I honestly didn’t catch this at first, and proceeded to Psalm 64, which is exclusively about malicious deceivers being punished by God. I was reading this psalm, and realizing that the dread foes, the ‘mob of evil doers’, these conspirators, are not flesh and blood enemies. Praying against our enemies and evil doers, is praying against the demons and the devils themselves! But also - and importantly – for me, it means praying against the thoughts inside my own head that tell me I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m not holy enough; I’m weak, I’m hopeless, I’m unloved, etc. All of these are lies. I know this, and yet, I still believe them! On a daily basis I believe them. I am encouraged praying these psalms against my enemies with the view that I’m not praying against flesh and blood enemies (though, I do also pray that those who perpetrate evil in this world will absolutely be stopped), but I am praying against all of the invisible powers that come against me that attempt (and too often succeed) to drag me down, and make me feel less than and not good enough. Praying against the evil doers starts by praying against my own restless thoughts. It starts inside. And works its way out… If a robber comes into your house, and there’s a band of others outside trying to work their way in too, how much sense does it make to let the robber that is already in your house run rampant, while you attempt to fend off the others? Wouldn’t it make sense to try and stop the robber that’s already in your house first? Get him out, and then continue to work at preventing the others from also entering. Otherwise, much more will be stolen and much more damage will be done. 

The same goes with the emotional and spiritual world. I have to be vigilant in fighting off the invisible enemies around me, but if I first don’t get rid of the ones inside me, they are going to run rampant and I will be much less effective at defending myself against the others. So first, I have to clear out the complete garbage in my own mind; the thoughts (lies) that run wild in my own head. The demons are tricksters, as Psalm 64 tells us: “They devise wicked schemes, conceal the schemes they devise; the designs of their hearts are hidden”. The thoughts they present might not seem like a ‘wicked scheme’ – but they are, that’s the point – to try and trick us with thoughts that seem like they are true, but are not, and actually degrade us: I’m not good enough. I’m a terrible sinner. I just don’t have what it takes. I never do anything right. What starts as a simple, single moment of weakness or shame suddenly becomes our whole identity! Our whole life! It is true that we ARE sinners. And we DO make mistakes. But this is absolutely NOT what Jesus wants us to use to define ourselves. He tells us that we are loved, worthy, beautiful, forgiven, redeemed, chosen, destined, favored, wanted, enough.

Why is it easier to believe the lies than the truth? How do we not see the many lies we believe while we’re believing them? Well, the more that we are exposed to something, the more we become accustomed to it and think that it’s ‘normal’ or ‘right’. So if we are told these things in a variety of different ways whether through family upbringing, or other damaging relationships throughout life, etc. we believe them. And the more we hear it, or that it’s implied, or the more that we start to subtly reinforce it in our own minds, the more that it becomes truth for us. We’re exposed, we’re comfortable, it’s familiar, it’s normal, it’s right. Except that it’s so very wrong. And it takes time and practice to start calling the lies LIES, and to fend them off for what they are: enemies. Enemies that steal and destroy - destroy our identity as chosen and loved sons and daughters of God; destroy our joy, our hope, and our freedom.

There is something else important about the end of Psalm 64 which says:

“But GOD will shoot arrows at them and strike them unawares. They will be brought down by their own tongues; all who see them will shake their heads. Then all will fear and proclaim God’s deed, pondering what has been done. The just will rejoice and take refuge in the Lord; all the upright will glory in their God.” -Psalm 64:8-11 (emphasis mine)

So if you are feeling a little powerless right now (another lie, by the way), you are most certainly not. Because God fights our enemies with and for us. We can’t do it by ourselves, and that’s okay, because we’re not supposed to. God is the vindicator. And He will fight for us. He’s the general, we’re the soldiers. We have to do our part, but He’ll make the tough calls; He’ll be there when the odds are against us and the chips are down; He’ll lead us through the battle to victory. The victory is the Lord’s. So take comfort in the fact that the final vindication isn’t up to us, and that God will strike down the enemies once and for all. And we, the just ones, will glory in our God.

But how do we do this? How do we, God’s little soldiers, fight these enemies and not let them get inside our heads? Scripture. That’s literally the answer. It’s so simple. Every time I read scripture, lies are debunked. Which means I need to read a whole lot more of it. Fill your mind with truth and there will be less room for the lies. Slowly, they will just get pushed out. Slowly, they can creep back in, which is why we must read scripture constantly, vigilantly, daily. This keeps the enemy where he belongs – away from us, and not residing in our minds where he can (and does) wreak havoc.

I definitely do not read enough scripture. And I’m resolving today to change that. I can’t let a day go by without opening up this bible and letting the grace that emits from the living word fight my battles. We have what we need to do this you guys! We just have to use it! There’s no magic wand or a flip of a switch and BOOM, enemies gone (boy, but wouldn’t that be nice!). BUT, there’s no complicated crazy formula either. It requires a little bit of effort, but it’s incredibly simple. You can do it. And so can I. If I want to stop letting my enemies and their thoughts and their lies get the upper hand in my daily walk, I have no choice but to make sure that scripture permeates my walk. Like it says in the last line of Psalm 63: I want my liars’ mouths to be SHUT! I don’t want the demons walking with me and talking to me! I want the LORD! Who’s with me? 

I’m resolving today. Will you join me?

Exercising Goodness

"We must not wish anything other than what happens from moment to moment, all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness. And to refuse to exercise oneself in goodness, and to insist upon simply awaiting what God might send, would be simply to tempt God."
— St. Catherine of Genoa

Today’s musings are generated entirely by reflection on this quote of St. Catherine of Genoa. Some information about the life of St. Catherine of Genoa will also help with perspective. I like knowing a little bit about the woman or man behind the words. Many quotes - this one included - can stand on their own two feet for sure! But knowing who is behind it can lend a deeper credibility to what they have to say.

A saint of the fifteenth century, Catherine was born into a noble Italian family. Though she sought religious life as a young teenager, she was denied because of her age. When her father died, she married at the age of 16 according to her parents’ wishes. But the marriage was terribly miserable for Catherine and she suffered for ten years with her faithless, mean-tempered, excessive money-spending husband. During a time she went to the church for confession, Catherine had an overwhelming mystical experience of God’s love and she experienced a deep conversion. Her life became profoundly focused on God and she immersed herself in frequent prayer, Holy Communion, and care for the sick. She is especially known for tending the sick during the two seasons of the plague that swept across Italy. Catherine’s husband joined her in her work after he too experienced a conversion. Due to the effects of his prior ruthless spending habits, they were in severe financial distress. They moved into the hospital where they cared for the sick and eventually managed the hospital. Toward the end of her life, Catherine explained to her spiritual director her mystical experiences throughout her devoted relationship with God. He complied her memoirs, and her many experiences and writings are of great insight to this day. And so we have this insight from her (repeating the quote):"We must not wish anything other than what happens from moment to moment, all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness. And to refuse to exercise oneself in goodness, and to insist upon simply awaiting what God might send, would be simply to tempt God."

It took me a few times reading it over to grasp what she was saying… and it’s worth expounding upon. The whole point is to live in the present moment. And that we shouldn’t wish for anything other than what God has permitted or willed to be in that moment, and - in every moment - to ‘exercise ourselves in goodness’. Each moment is an opportunity – an opportunity to live well. One moment to the next can be vastly different, but we are called in each moment to act in goodness.

What is goodness? Goodness, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is: “the quality of being morally good or virtuous.” Goodness = virtue. In each moment, we are called to act virtuously. This is the Christian life.

The second sentence of her quote is where the cream of the crop is. We have moments (or seasons) of our lives that we don’t understand, where we feel as if we are waiting on God to respond to a petition we have, and this can make not wishing 'anything other than what happens from moment to moment' extremely difficult. But Catherine tells us that we still must practice goodness, to practice virtue, for the moment. And that to refuse to do so, and to just wait on God without heeding the opportunity to practice virtue in each moment, is simply ‘to tempt God.’ We can be prone to waiting on God with a sort of sensationalist, expectant attitude, and a kind of stubborn, crossed-arms disposition of the heart. When we do this, we focus on what we want to see or experience in a future moment, and we lose the opportunity to act with goodness (virtue) in the moment we are in. Of course, this is absolutely NOT to say that we shouldn’t petition God for the desires of our heart! We can and should and even must do so. Jesus Himself instructs us in this, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7).

We are encouraged further in the Epistles to pray to God with our needs and desires (there would be too many citations to list of all the places where prayer of petition is encouraged throughout scripture, but see Philippians 4:6 & 1 Timothy 2:1 to start!). To pray in this way, is to live in the moment, presenting to God what weighs on our soul in that moment, but then, not simply insisting to wait upon Him, tempting Him to do what we want, but to go on – to go on living well, acting in goodness, persevering in virtue. 

A few tangible examples to envision: a couple who loses their child, petitions God to ease their sadness and console them in their grief, but then go out to serve the homeless at a soup kitchen – to live well, to act in goodness. A woman suffering from a difficult marriage, prays to God for help, and then goes to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. The man who lost his job and fears for the livelihood of himself and his family, prays to God, and then helps his wife clean the house, acting honorably, living virtuously. The chronic illness that threatens one’s peace, the loneliness that can taunt those who are single, widowed, or in nursing homes, the exhaustion that sweeps over the busy mom with small children, even the small things like burning the toast at breakfast, or forgetting to put the laundry in the dryer a day later (who’s with me!?), every single moment presents an opportunity – to act with goodness. To ask ourselves ‘how do I act with virtue right now?’

This applies to the good moments too! To everything that comes our way. In the moments that we feel especially loved, safe, happy, healthy, grateful, rested, prayerful, appreciated, or motivated – how do we exercise goodness in these times? To live those moments virtuously? Not with excessive pride, or ruthless ambition, or insensitivity – but with humility, patience, gratitude, and kindness.

What’s at the bottom of all this? What is the attitude, disposition, and perspective that we need to have in order to put this into practice, and really live well from moment to moment? TRUST. We have to trust that in the hard times, the sad times, the good times, the happy times, and the just plain busy times, God is taking care of us. To exercise goodness at all times, and to strive after virtue, even in the course of ‘waiting’ on God for the cries of our hearts, is to wait well, to trust Him, to grow, and to make ourselves ready for the work of the Lord in our lives. The work of the Lord is fluid. It is constantly moving and acting, so we’re never really waiting on God as if there’s ever a moment that He is not acting, for He always is. And ultimately, what are we making ourselves ready for? The moment when we’ll meet Him face to face. Everything in life is oriented to our destiny, and we were all created for the destiny of union with God. The ‘exercise of goodness’ in each day to day moment, is to strive after what we seek, is to make ourselves more and more receptive to God’s work in our lives now, and ready for our destiny at the moment He calls us home.

Saint Catherine had moments of joy and gladness and of deep intimacy with God as she dedicated her life and her work to Him, committing herself to prayer; but she also had moments of great trial, pain, and suffering. And her perseverance in the love of God and neighbor, gave her the wisdom to convey this truth to us… The quote one last time: “We must not wish anything other than what happens from moment to moment, all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness. And to refuse to exercise oneself in goodness, and to insist upon simply awaiting what God might send, would be simply to tempt God." All in all, we have to live in the moment – to live each moment well, and practice goodness (virtue) in all times and circumstances. And even if we feel like we’re waiting, to continue exercising goodness – to live well anyway. To seek the highest good. 

Lastly, a scripture verse comes to mind that I feel can propel us a little here:

“You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God!” (Micah 6:8)

Keep walking! Live well! 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Genoa

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/goodness