Shalom Seekers: A Third Meditation on Psalm 34:14

"Swerve from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it."

The first couple meditations focused in on refraining from evil, engaging in good, and finally we end with this last phrase: "seek peace and pursue it." The word for peace in Hebrew is "shalom" which although it does mean peace, the peace spoken of here is on a much grander scale than the peace we might imagine. We see peace as the lack of conflict or war, while the shalom of the Bible is a peace that entails a wholeness, a rightness. Not just a wholeness for the individual, but also for his relationships and for the whole world he lives in. With the fall of man in Genesis 3 we saw a multi-layered curse issued because of it, clearly seeing its fruits throughout the world today. This curse affected the relationships between man and God, man and woman, and man and nature. God's desire is for a large scale shalom movement, re-newing and re-novating that which has been incomplete and fractured for thousands of years.

So what does it mean for us today to seek peace? I would argue it entails seeking wholeness in our lives. The first "rightness" we must find is a rightness in our relationship with God. We need what Jesus called a "new birth", or a "second birth". Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again to bring us from a place of separation from God to a place of union with God. He came to correct that which we were utterly incapable of correcting. In Romans 5:1, Paul declares that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. This vertical peace spoken of in turn leads to a desire for a horizontal peace, a rightness of relationship with others and with nature. We are taught by God to be good stewards of our friendships, our jobs, our city, and our environment.

The final encouragement is the same in the verb at the end of the verse: "pursue it". It's a reminder that shalom seeking is not always an easy thing to do. In fact, it's just the opposite: very hard and discouraging at times. We see an "anti-shalom" that permeates the earth and even our hearts. It takes the gospel of Jesus transforming our fist-shaking rebellion towards God into clean submitted-hands that work to carry out the very things that Jesus's hands did on the earth. We follow him towards a global shalom. It takes discipline and an intentional focus on the things we hope to see happen, regardless of the initial outcomes. It takes what Nietzsche called "a long obedience in the same direction":

"The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is... that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living."

Let it be so.

Doing: A Meditation on Psalm 34:14

"...and do good"

This is part 2 of the meditation on Psalm 34:14.

Although the last phrase's emphasis was on the negative (ie saying "no" to evil, turning away, or swerving from evil), we can't let that be the end of the movement. We can't turn from evil and then assume we're "good". It's good to turn away, but what are you turning towards? Something better or worse? The Pharisees found themselves in this same place, turning from evil, but turning towards self-righteousness, in a sense attempting to be their own saviors. This sort of thought process was violently opposed by Jesus, because it led to the Pharisees assuming they were "healthy" when in fact they were just as sick as the tax collectors but completely unaware. They were outwardly healthy but inwardly dead.

So what do we turn towards? Jesus seemed to have a "third way". It wasn't a life spent on pleasure (like the "sinners" he hung out with), but it wasn't a life devoted to meaningless ritual (like the Pharisees he confronted). He invited people to repent of both these paths, and be "born again". This re-birth involved placing a new spiritual heart within people. A new humanity learning to live again under a new King in a new kingdom. Jesus the King was crucified by his subjects under the old kingdom's regime so that today we could live under a new authority, stronger than sin and death (the very things he declared as dead on the cross and evidenced by the empty grave). What do we trust in as we swerve from sin? Our new good deeds? Our good behavior only lasts so long, and then we realize the problem wasn't just our outward actions, but our inward intentions. We're bent outwardly, but primarily inwardly. Jesus' life isn't just meant to "un-bend" our actions, but also our heart. In a strange sense, we all had been kidnapped since birth and Jesus' life was the very ransom that paid for us to be freed from the hands of our captors. We learn to trust in his ransom, recognizing that we lacked the power to ransom ourselves, and then also learn to live a new life that's forever affected and influenced by that very ransom. If you want to read a simple book on this thought, check out Tim Keller's book called "The Prodigal God".

Another thought: often our empty religion can lead us to a list of things we're refraining from (sex, alcohol, rated R movies, fill-in-the-blank morality) but never call us to engage in anything. The word repentance is commonly misunderstood by our generation, and is almost called a bad word. However, in the word "repentance" is the idea that we don't just turn from something, but we also turn toward something. Jesus calls us to follow him. So often we think faith is about abstaining, but it's also about engaging, feasting, delighting, and enjoying God and his gifts. We turn from evil and turn from thinking that our turning suddenly makes us holy, and turn towards Jesus, following Him, trusting in His ransoming sacrifice. Would we consider what are we swerving from but also swerving to?

Those rescued from death, from kidnappers, from a terminal disease always live differently. They are a grateful people. They know what matters. They seem to be present, in the moment. Would we not just settle for outward purity, but an inward joy that leads to a full life of someone who's grateful for the days they have. The gospel is not just about saving people from something, but rather saving people for something. Let's be known not just for what we say "no" to (which is necessary often), but primarily for what we say "yes" to... Would we consider ways of doing good, not just in word but in action. He didn't say, "swerve from evil and talk good (Okie way of saying "talk nicely"), but "do good". Throughout the New Testament, it's clear our faith doesn't just affect a portion of our lives, but rather consumes the whole thing. True religious affections always lead to full expression of life, they must be manifested. The God-life in us always finds its way out into our actions, evidenced by fruit that looks like God. Because of the good work in you, go and "do good".

Swerving: A Meditation on Psalm 34:14

I read this in Robert Alter's "The Book of Psalms" yesterday from Psalms 34:14.

"Swerve from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it."

Other translations say "turn from evil" (NIV), "depart from evil" (NASV), and "turn your back on sin" (The Message). Such a short sentence, but intense in content. As I was thinking through and meditating on it yesterday, I had a few mental jaunts on the particular words David used here. I'll split them up into a few blogs but hopefully there are some inspiring thoughts and practical ways of responding to and living this text in our every day lives. The first meditation will focus in on the initial phrase, "Swerve from evil" and address 3 thoughts that branch out from it.

1) First, this phrase implies there are such clear things such as good and evil, and God gives us an ability to choose or un-choose those things in our lives. He will hold us responsible. We aren't just animals of instinct that have don't have the ability to say "no", but rather are creatures that possess wills and self-control. Evil is not just a subjective assessment determined by individuals who look through the lenses of their upbringing, culture, or life experience and then label something good or evil. It's ultimately determined by God. He created us, and knows the very things that serve to build his image in us and the things that tear down and distort his image in us. God desires that we turn from evil things, things that are anti-God and anti-human for that matter (see pg. 19 of Rob Bell's "Sex God" for some interesting thoughts on this). We are not the final judges, God is. This takes a massive amount of humility to admit and even submit to. It feels wrong at times because we've been fed the exact opposite. We love being told "our reality is the ultimate reality", "we're in charge" and "we call the shots". We don't. We never will. God does. God always will.

2) The second thought I had was connected to the imagery of swerving. When I was in college, we took a trip and had a four hour drive home from San Francisco airport to San Luis Obispo. On our way south, we stopped at a friends house in San Jose for a quick hot tub break. Part of the effects of a hot tub that I had forgotten about was how relaxed and sleepy it makes you after. Unfortunately I had the next slot to drive, and sure enough after a few minutes it was evident I was struggling to stay awake. Not only was I struggling, but everyone else in the car fell asleep except for me and a friend. Luckily, she kept asking me questions to keep my mind active, but at one point she asked me one question and I didn't respond. Not only did I not respond, but the car was set in cruise control veering off the road heading towards a concrete wall. She screamed, "Joel!!! Joel!!!!!!" and a I woke up and was confronted with a decision: drive straight into the concrete wall and crash into it or swerve left back onto the road and miss the concrete wall and ultimately drive to where we were heading in the first place. I didn't set off thinking, "I really want to drive into a concrete wall!" but rather was confronted with that and had a choice to make. For many of us, we don't start off headed in the wrong direction, but by the grace of God are awakened along the way and have to make a decision. "To swerve or not to swerve." Would I remind you all that sin always tastes good for a season, but also yields fruit in season. It might not be immediate, but its seeds are planted and they grow and will bear its fruit of death in your life.

3) The last point I wanted to make regarding this phrase is connected to the passion it shows we should learn to take against sin. Our response to sin shouldn't just be a "oh, I'll guess I'll turn away" but rather a passionate, "I'm not wasting any time" turning. It brings up the memory of Joseph in Genesis 39, who while being enticed by Potiphar's cougar of a wife would say, "How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against my God?". It got to the point where she was tearing his off his clothes (in true cougar fashion) and he had to sprint away. Joseph swerved. He turned away from short-term gratification and ran towards long-term joy. He hadn't just connected his sin to wronging Potiphar his boss, but the big deal for him was sinning against God and followed through with his convictions. We'd hope he'd get his reward immediately from God for his obedience, but was actually thrown in jail for something he didn't do. That doesn't seem like a just scenario, but in the end, Joseph's character was being shaped and God would use him for amazing things.

What do you need to turn away from that you'll eventually crash into? What do you need to swerve from? Who can you talk to about that to hold you to the things you're feeling stirred to turn away from?

Would we be a swerving people.