The Ripple Effect
(NIV) Psalm 120
A song of ascents.
1 I call on the LORD in my distress,
and he answers me.
2 Save me, LORD,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.
3 What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?
4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom bush.
Psalm 120 is the first of the Psalms of Ascent, sung by those journeying to Jerusalem during the holy festivals. Jerusalem was later described by Jesus as “a city built on a hilll,” so as the people made their way up to Jerusalem they sang these psalms. Likewise, they were sung as the priests ascended the fifteen steps to the temple.
This first psalm deals with someone who has been lied about and is pleading to God for deliverance. When I was young I sometimes would exaggerate. Known now as hyperbole, I stopped when I was embarrassed more than once by someone countering with a more accurate version of events.
One thing I have noticed about a lie, is that once it has been spoken it takes on a life of its own. As a child I read a poem by James William Foley that said “drop a pebble in the water and in a moment it is gone, but the ripples they continue, on and on and on.”
The poet went on to say the same about an unkind word, and finally a word of cheer. Perhaps if we considered the ripple effect of our words and our actions, we would choose both more carefully.
May we leave ripples of love and kindness that would spread far and wide.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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