I’ve always been a news hound. I took the newspaper wherever I lived, and enjoyed perusing sports and politics over a cup of coffee. Now I read the news in digital form, which allows for multiple sources but removes the pleasure of newsprint spread across the table. Times changes, but those who read and make the news do not.

Much of what hits the pages of my newsfeed consists of little more than opinion and posturing. Politician’s bombastic pronouncements, or entertainer’s cooing seductions make up a chunk of any day’s stories. I’m pitched a version of events that may or may not be true. As a consumer I must look below the veneer to discern what’s truly going on.

All personalities, be they politicians or entertainers or media members or business tycoons or our next door neighbor polish their appearance. I do the same, hoping to present to the world my best face and gain recognition as someone better than who I actually am.

As a king, David endured such posturing on a daily basis. Everyone wanted his ear, and hoped to gain privilege from his power. But David saw through the facade when he wrote: Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.

Those of low estate are the crowds who cried Hosanna! one day and Crucify him! the next. Social media audiences sway with the wind. Bits and bytes in cyberspace don’t weigh anything at all. Those of high estate—experts, royalty and holders of immense wealth—may be worse off. Living with the delusion of significance, they misunderstand how their self-perceived cunning wafts away like smoke in the breeze.

Where to turn instead? David, the ultimate influencer of his day, revealed this secret: For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken...Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.

Power belongs to God, and with this power comes loyal, determined love. Nowhere else in this world can such a promise be found. I find myself far better off when I wait in silence for the Lord, understanding Him as the source of life. All else fails. No matter what I read across multiple platforms, the wisdom of an ancient king stands—He alone is our rock and our salvation.

Psalm 62

Photo by Celine Ylmz

As an American I find the ongoing interest in royalty annoying. I mean, we threw off the shackles of King George two hundred plus years ago. Why draw more water from that tainted well? But I suppose the side-show aspect of wealthy blue-bloods spatting in the press is hard to ignore. Today’s kings and queens form one more cul-de-sac in the world of celebrity culture.

Often referred to as nobles, no one seem to regard these figureheads as excessively wise or brave. In contrast, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the noble: He who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.

What is noble? I think of a knight in shining armor, rescuing a damsel in distress. Or a lion—the king of the beasts. Or perhaps Aragorn (the true king) in Lord of the Rings. But Isaiah doesn’t speak of those born to power and wealth. Instead he refers to the virtuous, decent, honest and generous souls among us.

A thousand years later the apostle Paul brought a clue to nobility when he instructed the church members in Corinth to leave behind malice and evil, and instead pursue sincerity and truth.

What is noble? Doing justly, loving mercy, and pursuing sincerity and truth. I don’t need a suit of armor to love my neighbor (although it may help at times), but I do need the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures to live a noble life.

Nobility is found all around us. It looks like kind souls taking care of the sick, loving their neighbors, and praying for the needs of others. Royalty is flashy, nobility is not. While I will never rise to the status of a king, I can live a life among the noble.

Isaiah 32:8 & 1 Corinthians 5:8

Photo by Tom Parsons

Today is Labor Day in the United States, a day to celebrate working men and women, a federal holiday since 1894. This holiday also marks the unofficial end of summer, always bittersweet for those of us to hate to see it go. But summer or fall, winter or spring, we labor away in the places God called us.

The Apostle Paul wrote quite a bit about working hard. He mentioned these trades in a discussion of how workers deserved their wages: the soldier, the vintner (grower of grapes), the shepherd, the plowman, and the thresher. Paul even referenced a line from Moses—You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain.

Paul argued that even apostles, missionaries and ministers of the gospel deserve to reap a living from the field in which they work. Traveling and working ceaselessly for the kingdom of God, Paul rarely asked for funds, but he still depended on the good graces of those to whom he ministered. He even worked as a tentmaker at times, truly a bi-vocational missions worker. Why? Because Paul wanted to become all things to all people so that by all means he might save some.

We labor in a similar way, working for a living as well as sharing the good news of the kingdom of God. Our day jobs fade, but our labor in the Lord lasts long after we’ve retired from the field.

1 Corinthians 9

Photo by Museums Victoria

Are you an early riser, one who loves the first glimmer of light and greets the day with enthusiasm? Or do you enjoy the stillness of late nights, seeing the sun come up only because you never went to bed? The early bird starts the day with a hearty Good morning, Lord! While the night owl, annoyed at eagerness before caffeine, grumbles Good Lord, it’s morning.

I consider myself a mid-morning person. I tend to rise early, and do my best work before noon. I slog away late into the evening sometimes, but that’s not my preference. My wife is definitely a morning person (even in college she went to bed before 10:30).

I often feel that the morning people among us have co-opted this verse as their own: This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Heard early enough and loud enough, I tend to rebel. But with coffee and reflection, I realize the psalmist meant this truth for all of us.

Today’s day, indeed this very morning as I type and deal with clogged sinuses from seasonal allergies, comes to me as a gift from God. I may never get another. I live an imperfect life in a fallen world, surrounded by challenges. But opportunities and blessings encircle me as well. This verse reminds me to start my day with gratitude, thankful for the Lord’s good hand in my life.

Whether my prime time starts at sun up or sun down, it’s good for me to pause and thank the Lord for another day, regardless of what may come with it.

Psalm 118:24

Photo by Jonas Weckschmied