Ascending Together

Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,  nor sworn by what is a fraud. 

 - From Psalm, 24

As my readers know, I like to break biblical statements down into their individual components, to see what simple points are made, and to let the stark meanings of words, emerge to the forefront. 

The passage is answering some basic questions: Who will get to ascend God's holy hill? Who is worthy for fellowship with the Almighty? Who gets to enter into eternal rest and reward?

The requisite requirements are clean hands and a pure heart. Nothing new there. 

But it's these other words in the selected phrase that should be a little awkward, in 2021, to consider:

• Not pledged
• Falsehood
• Sworn
• Fraud

I could stop right here, and the people that have the most to worry about, when these concepts are suggested, will be the ones that immediately go on the defensive. 

Rather than agree that, yes, of course we do not want to pledge, or promise, or align with falsehood. or yes, we certainly should not covenant with fraud; they will launch into a rant against this or that political leader, or political philosophy, or race, or position of privilege. For whatever reason, a commitment to truth, or a resistance to fraud, is considered parallel to other ideals, in their minds, which they believe to be personally threatening to them, or to their loved ones, or to some other group that they do not know, but that they believe aligning with is the same as being a "good" person. 

But shouldn't we all just agree that, yes, we will NOT endorse lies. And Yes, we do NOT want fraud to prevail? 

And then, go from there . . . together?

By what bizarre eternal sleight-of-hand, would it be deemed right, for lies and fraud to have a seat of honor at a Heavenly table?

Let us begin with the realization that, as humans, we all do not deserve such a place in God's realm. It is such an understanding, and the owning of it, that is the first step towards being worthy of such a status. 

It should be so simple to agree - Lies are bad. And we don't want fraud. 

Period. 

 . . . rather than to get our feelings hurt by the mere suggestion of it . . .