Psalm 82
82 God calls the judges into his courtroom,
he puts all the judges in the dock.
2-4 “Enough! You’ve corrupted justice long enough,
you’ve let the wicked get away with murder.
You’re here to defend the defenseless,
to make sure that underdogs get a fair break;
Your job is to stand up for the powerless,
and prosecute all those who exploit them.”
5 Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges!
They haven’t a clue to what’s going on.
And now everything’s falling apart,
the world’s coming unglued.
6-7 “I appointed you judges, each one of you,
deputies of the High God,
But you’ve betrayed your commission
and now you’re stripped of your rank, busted.”
8 O God, give them what they’ve got coming!
You’ve got the whole world in your hands!
Devotion
We have become very divisive in the United States. Whether it is about abortion, vaccinations, or your political viewpoint there are those who differ from you. Not only that but it has become very common to judge harshly those whose views differ from your own. Eugene Peterson’s version of Psalm 82 (The Message) has God judging the judges. We are the judges when we harshly judge others for their views. God’s complaint is that the judges have not shown justice to the defenseless, the underdogs, and the powerless. I sometimes wonder if we get so caught up in standing up for our views that we totally forget about those who we are supposed to help. God is reminding us in this psalm that God is the judge. Our task is to work for justice not to judge others. God’s hammer of justice calls on us to love, not judge our brother and sister, even when we disagree with them.
Prayer
Forgive us God for our tendency to judge others with whom we disagree. Help us to see that what is important to you is not our views on different topics but our actions toward those in need. In your name we pray. Amen.