A devious heart will be far
from me;
I will not be involved
with evil.
I will destroy anyone
who secretly slanders
his neighbor;
I cannot tolerate anyone
with haughty eyes
or an arrogant heart. …
No one who acts deceitfully
will live in my palace;
no one who tells lies
will remain in my presence.
Every morning I will destroy
all the wicked of the land,
eliminating all evildoers
from the LORD’s city. – Psalm 101:4-8
A walk in the Holy Spirit is not only not committing sin but also not allowing self to abide. The Holy Spirit can manifest His power solely in those who live by Him. Whoever walks by his natural strength cannot expect to witness the mighty realities of the Holy Spirit. We need to be released from everything natural as well as from everything sinful. If we insist in walking according to man – not just the sinful, but the all-inclusive natural man – we reject the rule of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How can He exhibit His power if we are set free from sin and yet continue think as “men”, desire as “men” desire, live and work as “men” do? We are not leaning entirely upon the Holy Spirit of God to work in us. If we genuinely desire the fullness we first must break the all-pervasive influence of the soul. – Excerpt from The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee (emphasis added)
The quote from Psalm 101 sounds like one of those good old Old Testament theocratic, social conservative rants. The nutroots might read that and think it is exactly the mindset of Mike Huckabee or Alan Keyes or the Mormon hordes threatening the Great Ball of California. Of course, we are learning that it is really the Collectivists of the left who can’t tolerate disagreement or individuality, but that’s not my topic for the day – except maybe indirectly.
Psalm 101 is the song of a righteous king determined to drive out the lying and the deceitful, the wicked and arrogant. OK, what better place to begin such a purging than my own self? I look in the mirror and am reminded of the blues song that says, “I’m built for comfort. I ain’t built for speed.” My “palace” may be a little weather-beaten and rundown these days. I can’t do much with the exterior; it’s keeping the rain out at least. I can still keep up the interior, knocking down the cobwebs and mopping the floors.
My greatest struggle within my own quaint little city of Mansoul is with those denizens who lie and deceive. When Nee talks about the natural man and the self, he is talking about that which is derived from the Real. It is a mistake to take the self seriously. By doing so, destructive illusions and great confusion are wrought in the world. The soul will be a pompous ass, if allowed. The self has a purpose, but it is not to rule. The soul is meant to serve the spirit, not the other way around. The natural usurps power over the real by deceit. Like the king in the Psalm, I need to get up every morning and run those liars out of town.
If I would walk in the Spirit and live in peace, I must embrace truth, and it is sometimes blunt and brutal. I can give deception, or the deceptive self no quarter. Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). There is, in Christ, life-giving justification for everyone, power to live the abundant, Spirit-ruled life free from the strangling lies and murderous pride of the natural man.
Here comes the Son.
3 comments:
Great post, Mushroom.
I don’t know about you, but this line seems out of place almost…but not really – that nagging feeling again:
“I will destroy anyone
who secretly slanders
his neighbor”
This scripture, like a parable, is comparing ones property (physical word, one’s external or immediate radius, his actual home) to ones consciousness (his heart). In the former, one’s neighbors must certainly be mentioned. But with respect to your inner space? That’s a tough one – but it recalls the other phrases “love thy neighbor as you love yourself” and “as I have loved you.”
If the “slanderers” are “my” parasites. Does “love thy neighbor” mean love or “identify” with that spirit which aligns with my proper “me”, and that which God loves, and not those of the same kind as my parasites? Otherwise “love thy neighbor” means to include the parasites, internal and external. And I don’t think it does. I remember Jesus tore Peter a new one when he tried to talk him out of something very important (Matt 16:23)
I keep bringing up the n-word :-D I’m sorry. These phrases just seem to be deeper than just the surface literalism. It seems they get taken for granted. Saturated. Or maybe I have neighbor issues. I’d say yes but it isn’t true. I’m very fortunate that the folks on either side are good friends. I’ve witnessed the opposite and it’s a terrible, constant thing.
That's a good point. I thought of it in relation to the part of me that is vengeful and wants to tear someone else down in order to feel good about myself. Neighbor, then, being more or less literal. But it could certainly apply to the spirit man whom the old man is quick to ridicule and try to tear down. That may work even better. I like it.
I thought of it in relation to the part of me that is vengeful and wants to tear someone else down in order to feel good about myself.
That's the theme that was developing in me as I read your post, probably because that's an issue that came up for me yesterday, when an old friend referred to me in an email comment as "you wingers". Ouch!
The old childish me surfaced quickly, but I held my silence and chose to wait for clear signals for how to respond, if at all. This morning I got it; it showed up in this excerpt from a commentary written in 2006 on Rush Limbaugh. It was a good reminder.
>>"There are those who disagree and openly challenge Limbaugh's positions. To retain his audience’s trust he must be able to deal with their objections in an honest and fair manner. Woe be to the host who keeps dismissing those who oppose him without properly addressing the points they raise. Sooner or later he will be abandoned by all except the most narrow-minded in his audience. No one understands this better than Rush who accords those who contradict him the time and courtesy which go far beyond the bounds of common politeness."<<
Anyway, I composed an appropriate response that I can, in good conscience, live with and so let the gnawing matter go, because it's important for me to keep the friend.
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