Psalm 137

A painting by Fugel that captures the despair of the Jewish exiles in Babylon; a despair that turns to rage by the end of the 137th Psalm.

Here is a rendition of the first lines of lament from this passage.

Here is a link to another version with voices only.

How do you Justify That with Scripture?

I was asked this question recently...

...on the face of it, it is a good question.

The person who asked it was genuinely concerned with being obedient to Christ, and knowing God's commands.

So what's the problem?

A little context will help:

We were discussing racial politics in America, and the wisdom that scripture might offer to the church in such a muddy cultural milieu.  Specifically, I was arguing that Christians ought to engage in cross-cultural relationships as a rule.  This person was arguing that it is good for Christians to engage in cross-cultural relationships, but only when they are specifically called to do so; that it is also fine for Christians to only engage in relationships within homogenous peer groups.

I was arguing that it is a discipleship issue; to be mature in Christ, one must engage in relationships with other Christians who do not share your culture.  I was arguing that it is an ethical issue: to be godly and good is to love our neighbors even though they are not like us.

At this point, the person asked, "Okay, that all sounds fine, but how do you justify that with scripture?"

There are two responses that I want to give to that question:

1) Why should I have to justify my position scripturally, but you don't?  Why is it important for me to understand the biblical commands before engaging in cross-cultural community, but it is perfectly fine for you to maintain the status quo (ignoring people who aren't like you) without any need to know what scripture says about it?

2) Let's look at scripture!  From Genesis to Revelation a major theme of the Kingdom of God is the bringing together of the nations under the rule and reign of our Lord and Messiah.  The major ethical concern of the New Testament is precisely the creation of a new ethnos on the earth through the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus.  Paul publicly rebukes Peter on exactly this point, to fail to eat with other Christians of different cultures is to fail to understand the Gospel.  (Gal 2)  Racism is the charge that must be dealt with by the Jerusalem church in Acts 6, and working out the sticky details of multi-cultural community is the primary focus of the first ecumenical council in Acts 15.

================

To come back to the point, it is right and good for scripture to be the proving grounds of new ideas.  But scripture must also be applied to old ideas and patterns of life!

It is not enough to simply accept things as they are and move on.  Jesus, our King, is redeeming all things to the Father, bringing all aspects of life under His dominion.

The Gospels and the Whole Story

“The gospels, the epistles, and Revelation itself “work” only when you see them as detailed elaborations of the large, complex, but utterly coherent story we sketched earlier: the call of Human to be God’s image-bearer into creation, the call of Israel to be the rescuer of Human, and the vocation of Jesus to be the one who, completing Israel’s task, rescues Human so that, through redeemed humankind, the whole creation can be liberated from its corruption and death and the project of new creation decisively launched.”

Excerpt From: N. T. Wright. “After You Believe.” HarperCollins, 2010.

Flat Earthers and Biblical Interpretation

I had my first encounter with a real live flat earther…

…ok, not exactly.  But I did have a conversation with someone who is related to one.

My friend sent me a paper written from a flat-earth perspective and I thought I would post some of my response here:

As for the Biblical interpretation…

All I can say is that the paper is an example of what not to do with scripture. Taking metaphors/idioms and using them literally makes for good comedy, (I've got my eye on you) but it is a way to confuse things horribly in serious study. The person who wrote this paper hasn't thought through how their exegetical approach would carry out with other biblical passages.

For example, would Jesus' teaching in Matthew 10:16 require us to eat grass, walk around on four legs, and say "bahhh?" Or are we allowed to take Jesus' words as a metaphor? Again, I am quite confident that the author of this paper loves God, and reveres scripture, but I imagine that they don't take Jesus command (recorded in Luke 10:37) as a requirement to put wounded people on our donkeys and take them to the closest inn.

All that I would want is that the same lenses we wear when we read these two passages should also be worn when we attempt to understand what scripture might teach us about cosmology. Specifically, we should read God's book with the intention of understanding God's message. We rightly understand Matthew 10:16 to be Jesus' attempt to encourage humility, peacefulness, and innocence in the face of evil; we rightly understand Luke 10:37 as Jesus' attempt to encourage human compassion that trumps personal convenience and racial animosity.

We ought to also understand that scripture does not intend to speak to a physical model of the construction of the universe. The passages quoted in the paper are not God's attempt to teach us about the relationship between the sun, stars, heavens, planets, and our earth. They ARE intended to speak to the grandeur of God, or his sovereignty, or the mystery and beauty of the creation, or the destruction that is wrought when God's wrath is poured out on evil.

To 'read the Bible literally' is to take the Bible for what it is, not turn it into something else. Where the Bible is law, we must understand it the way we understand laws; where the Bible is prophecy, we must read it the way prophecy is read; where it is song lyrics, we must interpret them the way we interpret song lyrics; where it is narrative, we must understand it as a story. No one would take the jacket from a CD and use it as an argument about the curvature of the earth, so we ought not to do so with the Psalter...

Why I Don't Cuss...

Something that comes up from time to time with my fellow ministers, and other christian friends, is the use of profanity   I haven't personally met any non-christians who make this argument (although I am sure they are out there too), it is only christians of a certain type.  Christians who have a bone to pick with religion will, often enough, make the case that its okay to use profane language.  More often they will cuss in front of me to see if they can get a reaction.


In fact, you can usually tell the non-christians from the 'cool christians' by this.  Do they apologize to the pastor when they cuss, or do they smirk at the pastor when they cuss?
Needless to say, I have done some thinking about this, and while I am tempted to side with those who enjoy scandalizing the religious (they certainly need to be scandalized!) I am even more interested in how this plays out with those outside the bounds of our faith.  What do the cultures of the world think of when they hear followers of Jesus using profanity?

So, some basic facts:

1. Scripture is more concerned with God than with teaching people etiquette.
2. Vulgarity is a cultural norm that changes from culture to culture and language to language.
3. Many of the prophets use scandalous imagery, and language that might be considered on the 'strong' side (i.e. Paul's use of skubala which is definitely less technical than 'scat or defecate' and more vulgar than 'poop,' although probably not as offensive as 's--t,' and should probably be translated as 'crap') as a way of clearly communicating the depths of God's and/or the author's displeasure.
4. Jesus hung out with people who probably used language a lot worse than skubala (and behaved even more despicably) but managed to avoid making them uncomfortable around him AND avoid participating in their behavior.
5. Religious folks in our day (and in Jesus' day) seem to be caught up in behaving 'properly,' and seemed to think that 'being proper' was superior to 'being godly.'  This is the most dangerous spiritual trap imaginable.

The points above definitely lean towards a relaxing of our rules around vulgarity in the church, but I just don't think that rises to the level of justifying the use of the words our culture has said are offensive in and of themselves.  It's not that the words are immoral, rather, its that they are indecent.  Using the f-word is like pooping your pants, if a 2-year old does it without really understanding, people aren't offended, they just teach the kid how to go in the toilet.  …or they say, "No son, thats not a f--k, thats called a truck."

But when adults choose to use words that are indecent, knowing they offend the sensibilities of our culture, it rises to the level of immorality.  Not because the words are immoral, but because they are intentionally offensive.  Just as if I chose to poop my pants and walk around in it all day, 'sharing' it with my neighbors.

In fact, it is probably almost exactly like flatulence in front of others (something I have had recent conversations with my kids about).  If you don't understand that its offensive to some people, then its clearly not immoral, its just unintentionally indecent.  But when you know it offends, and you do it on purpose (either to be offensive, or because you just don't care enough about others) then you are being immoral…

Matter of fact, I hung out with a local ministry leader recently who couldn't stop dropping the f-word.  The first time he used it kinda made me laugh …after all, people love to test pastors to see how they respond.  Then he wouldn't stop.  I kept thinking, this guy sounds like Eva (a teenage girl who lives on our block), who thinks she sounds like an adult by talking this way.  It just came across as immature.

Obviously, I wouldn't put this in the category of 'central doctrines.' Many of my good friends come down on the other side of this, but a point of agreement is that the use of vulgar language should not be embraced simply out of a lack of control over our tongues or our minds.  Indeed, perhaps the take away here is this: both my personal decision to avoid such language, and my colleagues' decisions to intentionally use it, are motivated by the prioritization of missional relationships to those outside the church, and the missional de-prioritization of peripheral issues like using profanity.

A Biblical Praxis

We are really doing our best to live our lives according to Scripture… so when the Bible is clear about how to live, we just act accordingly.  For example, when we read 2 Corinthians 13:12, we are admonished to "greet one another with a holy kiss."  

…how "biblical" are you?

Orthopathy

Orthopathy is a great word, it has now entered my lexicon.  But the concept is not new...

St Augustine taught that the essence of Christian discipleship was developing 'rightly ordered love.'  In essence we have to learn what to love, and how to love, in ways that are consistent with the love of God, as a catalyst for orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and as the fulfillment of them.

Indeed, St Peter wrote that 'love covers a multitude of sins' (ie orthpathy is more important than othopraxy) and Jesus Himself taught that the repentant sinner is better than the righteous Pharisee who doesn't need repentance (ie orthopathy is superior to orthopraxy AND orthodoxy).  Jesus quotes the OT Scriptures that say the same thing, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."

Mature Leaders Embody Love

This is from a friend of mine:

Mature Leaders are patient:
They don’t give up quickly.

Mature Leaders are kind:
They understand the power and value of gentleness, and the healing work of a soft word spoken in season.

Mature Leaders do not envy:
They rejoice as they see others grow and develop within the organization.

Mature Leaders do not boast:
They aren’t quick to share their own accomplishments but would rather see others receive credit they deserve.

Mature Leaders are not proud:
They are not insistent on their own way but are diligent about gathering the perspective of others.

Mature Leaders do not dishonor others:
They do not secretly point out the shortcoming of others, but consider how the gifts they posses can compliment and compensate for others.

Mature Leaders are not self-seeking:
They are thinking about how to serve their co-laborers.

Mature Leaders are not easily angered:
They do not quickly lose their temper, but are careful and guarded with their words, understanding that a single word misspoken can do more damage to an organization – or to a staff worker - than can years of service.

Mature Leaders keep no record of wrongs:
They are not one who will list out the mistakes of the past but instead have released them and forgiven them for their sake and for the sake of the work of the body.

Mature Leaders do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth:
They are grieved when there are failed relationships.

Mature Leaders always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere:
This is packed full of meaning – rather than exposing faults of other staff, they actively engage in protecting their reputation, their role, and their value within the organization.

Mature Leaders never fail:
They exhibit all of the above day after day.

Loving the Bible

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FCF20JNU

12 Rules for Preaching on Contentious Issues

How should pastors and Christian leaders talk about issues on which the Church is divided, or where there are strong tensions within our culture?  For example, how should a pastor speak about political issues like cash benefits for poor families?  Or, how should a church leader speak about cultural hot-potatoes like Homosexuality?  And what about theological positions upon which the church has been historically divided like Pacifism?

Here are my 12 Rules in no particular order:

1) Maintain Unity:
We must create and maintain space in our fellowship for faithful people who disagree as a matter of conscience.  Whether we affirm the views or not, we must repeatedly affirm the people who say them and their right to be at the table.  (Galatians 2:11-21 and other 'unity' passages may not be speaking directly about the contentious theological and cultural issues of our day, but the principles apply.)

2) Embrace Mystery:
We must create space for a healthy amount of tension and cognitive dissonance around contentious issues.  We must be willing to declare that there are truths to be held in tension.  We must acknowledge that there are mysteries to be embraced and not understood.  (Romans 11:33-36 Paul's Doxology makes clear that we can never plumb the depths of God's whole truth.)

3) Speak with the Church:
We should, as forthrightly as possible, distinguish between a) statements that are merely our opinions, b) statements that are minority opinions within the scope of the historical church, c) statements that are majority opinions, and d) statements that are simply quotations from Scripture.  (1Corinthians 7:10-12 is perhaps one of the most interesting verses in Scripture, especially for those of us who hold Scripture to be inspired.)

4) Speak Clearly:
We must speak as honestly and transparently as possible.  (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul did not preach with a pretentious message or manner, neither should we.)

5) Maintain Focus:
We must continue to point at 'heart issues' in our teaching.  The most important thing is sincere discipleship unto Jesus; desiring God, yearning for righteousness, hoping for justice, longing to bless our 'enemies.'  This means that our preaching is not primarily about 'informing the mind,' but rather 'forming the will.'  (Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus instructs us to 'love God' with our whole being, not simply with our mind.)

6) Speak to the Whole Person:
We must understand the pastoral ramifications of what we are about to say in the actual lives of the people we are teaching.  We must understand how it will effect other issues; their view of God, or of Scripture; their relationship to the Church, or to others.  We must understand the 'hidden curriculum;' the unintended message that people will hear.  We must understand 'the question behind the question.'  (Matthew 19:1-12 Jesus explains Moses' teaching on divorce as motivated by this pastoral sensitivity.)

7) Speak Humbly:
We must acknowledge our own fallibility as teachers, (James 3:13-18 requires that wisdom be humble) as well as our own failings as human beings. (1 John 1:8-10 requires our acknowledgement of our own sinfulness.)

8) Don't be a Jerk:
We must recognize that 'truth' is not the primary rubric for Christian speech.  (John 13:35 The defining marker of our lives is to be 'love' and not 'truth.')


9) Speak Blessing:
We must love those to whom we are speaking.  Christian love (agape) is a resolute commitment to work for the blessedness of the object of that love.  We must speak from exactly this posture.  This means that we must speak 'love' and not necessarily 'kindness,' but we must also speak 'love' and not necessarily 'correctness.'

10) Be Prophetic:
We must be led by the Spirit.  Sometimes people need to be shocked, sometimes wooed, sometimes chastened, sometimes healed; the Spirit of God desires to effect change in the hearts and lives of our hearers, not merely to inform them.



11) Be Responsible:
We must stick around to deal with the consequences of what has been said, or at least we must make some avenue for follow up to be possible.  (John 21:15-19 records Jesus simultaneously rebuking and restoring Peter, our teaching should be equally responsible.)


12) Trust God:
We must be willing to step out in faith (remember, Faith is spelled R.I.S.K.), our own faith journey requires us to trust God in our speaking.  We cannot preach from fear, pride, or any other false motive.  We must trust Him.

What Laws Should We Add to the Gospel?

Acts 15:29 contains a prohibition on the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, meat from strangled animals, and blood, as well as a prohibition on sexual immorality.

Interestingly this prohibition is a part of a letter explicitly freeing gentile followers of the Messiah from the obligation of following the Torah.  (Read all of Acts 15)

So what's up?

I thought we Christians were not under law?  Am I guilty of sin for enjoying a rare steak?

Why would they, in one breath offer absolution from the ceremonial law of the Jews, and in the next breath, require adherence to a few obscure points of that same ceremonial law?

The simple answer is... context.

-------

This was the early churches exhortation to the gentile believers, 'don't conform to the pattern of this world,' don't participate in your culture simply because its your culture.  Don't go with the flow; thoughtfully engage in counter-cultural subversion of the status quo.  Not by picking up a sword or a spear, nor even by moving out into the desert in isolation, but by living right in the middle of the Empire, engaging in all of the same relationships and social interactions, but do so with Christian intentionality.  Live a different, otherworldly, heavenly culture, right in the middle of this one.  Do it in quiet but obvious rebellion.  Refuse to eat these things, and watch your culture quickly come to frustration and confusion at the question, 'who are these people, and why do they live the way they do?'

So how do we apply this today?

I think its okay to eat blood sausage, if thats your thing.  For us to really apply this passage to our lives, we need to contextualize it.  What are the cultural forces at work today that 'it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us' to confront and subvert?

Here's my list:

"You are to abstain from purchasing any item that is not used or handmade; from eating or driving alone; from recreating behind your house instead of in front of it; and from sexual immorality."

What's yours?

1st Century Church Planting Strategy

Do you ever wonder what the secret of the miraculous growth of the first century church was? Well here it is!

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:7-8

Jesus commands them here (and earlier) to go into all the earth and teach women and men how to live in the Kingdom, partnering with the Spirit's actions on the earth.

"you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching"
Acts 5:28

The pharisees themselves testify to the effectiveness of the apostle's preaching, but we see that they still haven't obeyed Jesus! They have stayed in Jerusalem. They are indeed witnessing effectively to the King's rule, but not obeying it!

8 And Saul approved of their killing him (Stephen). On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Acts 8:1-3

With the stoning of the deacon Stephen, a great calamity falls on the 1st Century church, and yet, it is the very tool that God uses to spread His people throughout the surrounding countryside, and nearby regions. So, to be succinct, the 1st Century church-planting strategy is a) disobey God until b) persecution comes, and c) the church is scattered, so that d) the seeds of the Gospel are carried to the far corners of the earth.

Lost in Translation

The other day I had a friend of mine ask me my opinion of The Message (Eugene Peterson's translation of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament into contemporary vernacular)...

After having that conversation I looked online for some of the specific critiques of The Message just to see what people are saying.  It prompted a response!

To begin with, I really like The Message, and use it in both teaching, and personal devotions, but I do not use it exclusively.  The simple truth is that points of doctrine should be established through appeals to the original language!  If we are reading an English language Bible we aren't reading the original Bible.  Comments about changing the word of God, or playing loose with the truth miss the point entirely!  The word of God was written in Hebrew and Greek!  If we wanted to affirm the word of God in a literal way, we would do what the Muslims do with the Qu'ran, and force anyone who wants to follow Jesus learn to read the Bible in its original language.

Acts Pt II

The Book of Acts

Reclaiming Ambiguity

Certainty is the intellectual heritage of Modernity...

...and with it comes an attendant fear of mystery.

Our culture, however, is growing ever fonder of mystery, is embracing ambiguity, and is growing increasingly apprehensive about certainty. As Christians raised in a modern Church attempting to reach a modern world, we look at our culture's growing mistrust of certitude, and we are either frightened or disgusted. We fear the erosion of truth, or we are disgusted by the obvious attempt at self-justification for a hedonistic lifestyle...

But I would ask that we suspend judgment for a moment.

I do not think Christianity should be equated to certitude. There are a few things about which we must be certain (Paul argues this in 1 Corinthians 15 about the physical resurrection of Jesus) but there are many things about which we should be ambiguous! In our attempts to be Biblical we have made claims for certainty, but in fact, we must acknowledge that where the Bible is ambiguous, it is unbiblical to be unambiguous!

The Irreducibility of the Communal Narrative pt III

If the community of God's people is the medium for communicating the message of God's good news, then many of the behavioral prescriptions of the New Testament are actually just as important in terms of their communicative properties as they are in terms of their ethical properties.  What we do is important because God wants us to act a certain way, but it is just as important because of what it says about God's Kingdom...

In other words, we are commanded to behave in certain ways because God wants us to behave in those ways, but also because God wants our lifestyle to communicate certain things about the gospel.  This is true in all NT commands but we will here discuss one in particular, and for two reasons.  Firstly, the New Testament authors (Paul in particular) make it clear just how important this commandment is and are explicit about its communicative properties, and secondly, it is a particular shortcoming of the contemporary church.

I am speaking of the calling of the church to be the united, newly created, people of God, called out from among every ethnic group, every social class, every cultural group, and every language, into allegiance to Jesus.

==============================

John 17:20-26

John quotes Jesus' prayer for his followers, including those in the future (you and I).  Jesus' prayer makes it clear that the unity of the church will communicate the veracity of the gospel to the world.  In other words, when the world comes upon a community of people who have nothing in common (a community that crosses political, racial, language, class, educational, sexual boundaries) they will be forced to wonder just what it is that binds us together.  Contrariwise, when the church ghettoizes itself along denominational, racial, political and socio-economic lines, we damage the proclamation of the gospel message.

Romans 10:9-13

"I am saved by faith, therefore____________"

The typical evangelical fill-in-the-blank answer to this is "I am not saved by effort," but this is not the scriptural answer!  In every single place in the NT where justification by faith is brought up, it is tied directly to the unity of the Church across social divides.  We have been blinded to the words of scripture, and have failed at our exegetical task, by the history of Protestant anti-Pelagianism.  The Scriptural argument is "I am saved by faith, therefore there is no longer a division between Jew and Gentile, slave or free..."

Galatians 2:11-21

Paul gets in Peter's face over this!  This is not a peripheral issue.  Paul essentially tells Peter he is denying the gospel when he refuses to eat with people of another race!  This is a gospel issue for Paul, and should be for us too.  Why are our communities of faith divided?  Why do white Christians and Black Christians, English speaking believers and Spanish speaking ones, rich brothers and poor brothers, eat at separate tables?  And even more importantly, why aren't we getting in anyone's face about this issue?

==========================

In short, you are not a committed disciple of Christ unless you are committed to work through your biases, and actively engaging in deep, formative, and submissive relationships with people who do not share your racial, economic, educational, political, or even theological, heritage.

Judgement

18 Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire and destroy him.
There will be no survivors
from Esau.”
The LORD has spoken.

Obadiah 1:18



The flame of Jacob, and the Fire of Joseph will destroy Esau...

Is the presence of the righteous, itself a part of God's judgement upon the unrighteous?

I know I get scared around holy people sometimes. ;-)

Like A Seed and Like Yeast

"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."

Isaiah 9:7 speaking prophetically about the Messiah, tells us that 'the rule of God is ever increasing in scope, in fact the increase will never end.' Its not just the government that has no end, the increase will never end...

Jesus likens the government of God to a seed and to yeast. (Matthew 13:31-33)

A small seed that is insignificant when planted, that is unseen during germination, and breaks the ground with a tremulous shoot, but soon enough grows into something significant and fruitful.

A small bit of yeast that is kneaded into the dough, but soon begins to take on a life of its own, spreading throughout the whole, causing it to take on entirely new properties, flavors, and smells...

===============

Our first moment of faith is the faintest submission to the rule of God, perhaps only in word.

...but the seed is in the ground!
...the yeast is in the dough!

And now comes God's part!

of the increase of His kingdom, there will be no end!

Perhaps we only acknowledged we believe, but had no intention of obeying, or perhaps we only became willing to obey out of desperation; it matters not to God, He will work with any soil, or any dough. The Holy Spirit continues to haunt us, and soon the faintest acknowledgement of the Lordship of Christ has grown to include more of our lives, fostered by fellowship and word, service and worship, the seed is germinating, sprouting, growing, and producing fruit... fruit that contains seed to be planted in other soils...

=====================

"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."

Worship Changes Us

St. Paul writes the following in the twelfth chapter of his epistle to the Roman Church:

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Here Paul is instructing us that true worship involves our total humanity.  A living sacrifice that continually presents itself, not merely in song, but in its physical entirety.  Our thoughts, emotions, actions, and lifestyle are included in our worship, not merely words.

In worshipping God in this way we are honoring Him according to His proper worth; we are giving Him something.  We are also, however, giving God access to us; He is giving us something in return.  By acknowledging God for who He truly is, and by doing so whole-heartedly, we are receiving a renewed self.  A self that begins to look more and more like Him.  Our whole being is being conformed to His as we worship Him.

We are made in His image, designed to reflect His glory into the world around us.  Like a mirror turning towards the source of light, in order to reflect it; we turn towards God in worship to do the same.  In proclaiming the majesty, beauty, and power of the Creator through worship, our reflection of Him becomes cleaner, clearer, and brighter.  It is then that we are able to truly understand, discern, and perform His will.

In my own life this has been true.  Decisions I had made for evil, destructive patterns of thought I had settled into, bitterness I had held onto, lies I had believed; all melted away in moments of worship.  Almost without notice these things came to pass; there was no conscious renouncing of these evils but only an embracing of God.  After such an embrace, I discovered that those evils had been let go of almost against my will, they had been crowded out of my soul.  As if there was not room for bitterness or envy within a soul filled with thoughts of God.

In idolatry our humanity is perverted and our godliness polluted.  In worship of our Creator, we become more fully human and more godly as well...