Glenn Beck is a polarizing figure. People seem to land in one of two camps — they either love him or loathe him.  He’s either the savior of our democratic state or a catalyst to toxic political debates around the country.  Just a week ago, he held a rally that drew thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to Wasington D.C. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  It’s clear that a large percentage of the country loves Beck’s message.

What surprised me from the articles I’ve read and the video segments I’ve seen, is how religious the rally was.  Beck was calling on Americans to restore honor to our country by getting serious about God again.  He discouraged people from bringing placards that backed politicians.  He didn’t want this to be a political rally.  It was about taking our country back.  It was about restoring honor.  It was about becoming more moral.  They celebrated the good in America’s history and they honored America’s troops all with gratitude to God.

An article on Beck’s website describes what Beck is doing and the movement he is leading this way:

Beck is building solidarity and cultural confidence in America, its Constitution, its military heritage, its freedom. This is a vision that is despised by people who have long held the commanding heights of the culture, but it is obviously alive and kicking. Beck is creating positive themes of unity and patriotism and freedom and independence (Glenn Beck’s Website)

He is “building solidarity and cultural confidence in America.”  Beck is telling us that we are good.  He is saying that the high points in our history far outstrip the low points.  He is saying that God has particularly blessed America.  Our history is good and our potential for a brighter tomorrow is good.  He is saying, “America, believe in yourself and believe that God has blessed us and then get out there and be moral.  Work hard, make money, support the military, and don’t let the government take over control of our lives.”  It’s a message that is simultaneously hopeful and encouraging.   It is a message that says that we the people are good while they the politicians are bad.  It’s a message that says, if we would only be ourselves, our true selves, as we’ve always been at our core, then we could reclaim and restore our original honor.

This past week I preached on Matt. 22:16-22.  It’s the passage where the Pharisees ask Jesus whether it’s okay to pay taxes to Caesar or not.  Jesus highlights the idolatrous nature of the coin (and money) and then says, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.  As I read the passage and prepared my sermon, Glenn Beck and all those who cry out against the government and against it’s ever increasing slide towards socialism came to mind.  In this story, the Pharisees are lamenting the taxes they have to pay to the Roman government.   They come to Jesus to confirm the idea that God is against tyrannical governments.  It’s the same question that Beck and many of his followers are asking.  The sentiment portrayed by many of Beck’s followers is strikingly similar to that of the Pharisees’ question.  One rally attender put it this way:

Ryan Townsend, 35, of Parkersburg, W.Va., said he came Saturday because, “I’m not going to sit idly by while tyranny and socialism replace our Constitution.” (Washington Post)

The Jews of Jesus day hated to pay their taxes just as much as Ryan Townsend.  They also considered themselves to be under the oppression of a tyrant, and they similarly saw the power of the tyrant expressed in the bondage they felt to paying taxes.  That’s why they posed this question to Jesus:

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”” (Matthew 22:17 ESV)

The Pharisees and many of the Jews assumed that in order to restore honor to themselves and to their nation, they would have to stop paying taxes.  But surprisingly, Jesus says is, pay your taxes.  The level of importance you place in that coin is idolatrous.  By paying your taxes you will be relieving yourself of the burden of carrying that idolatrous coin around.   He is saying, you should pay your taxes even if your government is as tyrannical as the Roman Empire and it’s leader is as great a delusional megalomaniac as Tiberius Caesar, who happened to think he was divine.  Jesus says, whether your leader is Tiberius Caesar or Barak Obama, and whether your government is democratic, tyrannical or socialist, “Pay your taxes!”

Don’t pay them because your hope and trust is in Caesar.  Don’t pay them because your identity and hope for the future is in your government.  Pay them because you can still give to God what is God’s even while you give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.  You can pay your income tax and still have everything you need to give to God what is God’s.  You can pay your taxes and still have a full and content life as well as a hopeful future.  You don’t need all your income to be happy.  You don’t need all your money to have worth.  Jesus championed the radical idea that you don’t need to avoid taxes or live under a just government to restore your honor.

But so long as we are obsessed with income tax brackets we are just like the Pharisees.  We are missing the point.  We love money and think that we need it to be happy.  Jesus is trying to set us free from our bondage to money.  He is proclaiming the radical message that you and I can be happy whether we are rich or poor.  Whether we pay taxes or not, we can still give to God what is God’s.

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I just came across an article about a male Gordon-Conwell student (the seminary I attended) who allegedly broke into a female student’s dorm room and setup a video camera with the intent of filming her.  You can read about it on the Boston Herald or the Salem News sites.  I feel badly for this young woman.  I can’t imagine the feeling of invasion of privacy and the lingering effects of this incident.  I also feel badly for the student that broke into her room.  He’s clearly a troubled person who is dealing with some difficult desires that led him to make a life-altering decision — very sad.

What I find interesting is the responses to this story in the comment section on these two newspapers’ sites.  There is a sense of derision and mocking aimed at this young man.  There is even a sense of delight in reveling in his downfall as a person seeking pastoral office.  To be honest, I’m not sure what to think.  I get why people feel this way.  They think judgmental evangelicals are just as sinful as everyone else, and therefore they should keep their mouths shut.  And, I agree that this guy shouldn’t be doing this or anything like it, but I’m not surprised it happened.  I also don’t think this makes pastors who talk about sin insincere or necessarily hypocritical.   As a clergy member myself, I’m aware of the standard to which I feel called, but I’m also aware of the fact that I don’t measure up.

I’ve never broken into another person’s room to film them (nor done anything illegal), but there are undeniable ways that I fall short of God’s standard.   If my qualification for ministry was based on my personal performance, I’d be out of a job.  If I had to master every sin before I talked about it, there’d be a lot of things I could never preach on.  I’m not God.  I’m not perfect.  I sin, sometimes boldly.  What am I to do?  What are clergy to do?

Most hide it.  They put forward a portrait of perfection, but as I mentioned in my last post hiding it makes things worse, because hiding it gives the sin more power.  It isolates people and prevents them from receiving grace.  What we, the church, need to do is come to terms with the fact that our clergy are just as sinful as the rest of the world.  Our desires are just as dark and perverse as everyone else’s.   We’re broken too.  My hope is only that our hearts are receptive enough to grace and that we’ve experienced a deep enough level of transformation that we are safe to lead and wise enough to put parameters in place that protect us from personal pitfalls.

We need to be honest about our clergy, and honest about God.  This is no surprise to God, and it’s no disqualifier for grace.  My hope is that churches can be honest about sin so that they are able to call people to repentance, and serious enough about grace to provide a place that’s safe enough for confession and repentance to happen.   Often times this culture starts in seminary.  Pastors try to replicate the culture they experienced in seminary in the churches they lead.  Gordon-Conwell was a place that was safe enough for me to confess and experience grace while I was there, but I wonder if it was for this student.   For the sake of our pastors and the future churches they lead, I hope he is the exception.  My prayers are with the GCTS community.

Last week Stanley McChrystal said some bad things about President Obama.  For most Americans, this isn’t a big deal, but for McChrystal it spelled the end of his job as commander of the Army’s operation in Afghanistan.  It’s hard to know why he said things like “Obama looked uncomfortable and intimidated by the roomful of military brass” and more in an interview with Rolling Stone.  An NPR commentator suggested that McChrystal did it to shift the blame of a poorly advancing war off of his shoulders.  McChrystal was pre-emptively protecting himself from the forthcoming criticism of the war in Afghanistan.  In essence, McChrystal was trying to secure his reputation by distancing himself from what he predicts will be a failure.

I’m not sure if this is accurate, but if it was it didn’t work.  When an Army general bad-mouths the commander-in-chief to protect his image, he does the opposite.  He just looks like a jerk.

David Petraeus made this object lesson all the clearer by providing a compelling counter-example.  As Obama is forced to fire McChrystal and appoint a replacement, he chooses David Patraeus who had been working above McChrystal as head of both the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars.  Taking McChrystal’s job then was essentially a demotion.  It would appear to be harmful to his public image.  He went from being in charge of two wars to just one, and conventionally wisdom would suggest that his position and his status decreased.

But what I find fascinating is that the opposite happened.  The American people have generally lauded his action and his public persona has swelled to heroic proportions.  He is seen as the self-sacrificing public servant who has stepped in to save the day.  In a phrase, “Sacrifice sells.”  When leaders swallow their pride and choose to sacrificially serve their community around them, they win tremendous favor.  McChrystal’s image-driven actions backfired and he has come out the other end looking bad.  Patraeus’ sacrificial service which on the surface appears to decrease his stature has had the opposite effect.  This is so obvious that it appears axiomatic to me.  It’s sort of like what Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Mt. 23:11)

Over the last few years, the number of immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico has become an increasingly contentious political issue.  Politicians have flirted with comprehensive immigration reform at times, but the explosive nature of the issue in the public’s mind has mostly kept politicians from doing anything substantial at a Federal level.  Now states like Arizona have passed new laws to combat the problem.  Other politicians, like a Republican candidate in Alabama, has used the issue to rile his constituents when he promised only to offer driver’s license tests in English.  This has left illegal immigrants who have lived here for years in a difficult position.  They feel at home in the US, and to send them back to Mexico would feel like exile.  It would tear families apart and even hurt our economy.  Recently, President Obama and Mexican President Calderon met to discuss among other things immigration reform.  I hope it went well.  Our country needs immigration reform at this systemic level.

As a Christian, I feel it is important for me to talk about this polarizing political issue.  I’ve witnessed what appears to be an increasing hostility and even bitter resentment towards Mexican immigrants, and this sort of attitude has no place in the church.  Here are a few reasons why, we as the church should value, speak up for, and seek to be in relationship with immigrants, Mexican or otherwise:

1. Jesus was an immigrant. While Jesus was just a small child, Joseph and Mary were forced to flee from Palestine to Egypt because of the genocidal decree issued by Herod.  He spent many years in Egypt, and then his family finally returned to Palestine after Herod died.  When God deigned to put on humanity, it was in the cultural dressings of an illegal immigrant.  Not only is God not far from those on the margins of society, he himself was on the margins of society in the person of Jesus.

2.  All humans are created in the image of God. Jesus exhibited an incredible ability to cut through the prejudices of society.  He loved the people that no one else seemed to be able to love.  Paul said the gospel tears down every dividing wall that keeps people at odds with one another, whether racial, social, gender, or economic.

3.  Ancient Israel was meant to be a place hospitable to the alien, sojourner, and immigrant. After Israel entered Palestine, God commanded them to care for immigrants and wanderers, because that’s what they themselves had been for so many years.  (Ex. 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34)

4.  We are all immigrants and sojourners in the world. As Christians, our primary allegiance is to God and to God’s kingdom.  We are first and foremost citizens of heaven.  Often times immigrants understand this intuitively because they are outside the dominant power culture in the country to which they come.  White Christians living in the suburbs of America (like myself) are wise to recognize this implicit advantage immigrants have in living as though they are aliens and sojourners in the world.  There is much we can learn from them. (1 Peter 1)

Immigration reform is complicated.  I get that we need laws that govern our borders.  We need rules for how people enter our country, and they need to be enforced.  Currently, those laws do not work well, and that’s why immigration reform is so crucial.  The system is broken and it needs to be fixed.  I hope it includes some pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have lived here for many years and are more at home in this country than their country of origin.

In the meantime, I plan to love and welcome anyone and everyone, regardless of legal status.  My allegiance is first and foremost to the Kingdom of God, and in God’s government acceptance is preeminent.  Join me in loving immigrants and learning from them as we hope for immigration reform that results in a more just and equitable treatment of all people in this country.

“Evangelicals are often portrayed as homophobic or hateful toward gays.  If you could envision the ideal relationship between evangelical churches and gays, what would that relationship look like?”

As a church planter, it is in my job description to meet with lots of people — people new to the faith, people seeking faith, and those who have been a part of the church since the day they were born. Each group brings with it their own set of questions for God and the church. One group wants to know about social justice, another about our music style, and another about our interest in doing overseas mission work. But one question that seems to be present in the minds of each person regardless of groups is, “What is your stance on homosexuality and Christianity?” This is the most common question I get no matter which type of person with whom I am talking.

What I find even more fascinating is that I have never been asked it by anyone inside the gay community. It is usually asked by married couples with kids. Rarely do they have a homosexual friend in mind. The question is not asked because there is even much interest in my position or my rationale for my position.  It’s a litmus test. This individual is trying to decide whether they want to be a part of our community, and this question seems to be the fastest way for them to group us into a sociological category. They assume they will know what type of church we are by how I respond to this question.

That’s why I never answer it.  Continue reading here…

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It’s no wonder he feels this way, real marriage is hard.  In fact all relationships are hard.  People don’t conform to our needs mechanistically the way a computer program does.  We can’t shut our spouse off when we need a break from her/him.  We can’t guarantee that our spouse will always respond positively towards us so long as we push the right buttons.  We can’t have our spouse change clothes to meet our sexual desires whenever we want.  Real relationships happen with real people.  Real people are anything but mechanistic.

It’s in the context of real relationships that we must relinquish control.  We can’t control our spouse.  We can’t dictate their behavior by following a formula.  Real relationships demand something from us.  Virtual relationships are inherently self-seeking and that’s why they are appealing.  Sal is married to a virtual spouse because she exists only for his pleasure.  Few of us are actually tempted to marry a video game, but the temptation to view our spouses and all our relationships in a similar way is real.  It’s a common desire to engage in relationships based on what we can get out of them as opposed to what we can give is present for all of us — that’s why marriage can be so hard.  Our spouse has needs and desire too that may or may not fit into our plans for our individualized life.

I find this story amazing in its extremity, but relevant in that it reflects a pattern at work in all of us.  Have a look:

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As a church planter in a community that is attempting to be more relational and organic, Parker Palmer’s words on leadership really strike a chord.  He argues that it’s in the less rigidly defined community that leadership is most important not in the structured and hierarchical system:

Unfortunately, our idea of leadership has been deformed by a myth that links leadership to hierarchy, as if leaders were needed only in systems that operate from the top down.  But when we are in “community” — which, at a turn of the kaleidoscope, evokes the romance of an instinctive life together — we can dispense with a designated leader, allowing the role to pass spontaneously from one person to the next.  Or so goes the myth.

Yet in my experience, a community requires more leadership than a hierarchy does.  A hierarchy has clear goals, a well-established division of labor, and a set of policies about how things are supposed to run; if the machine is well designed and well lubricated, it can almost run itself.  A community is a chaotic, emergent, and creative force field that needs constant tending. And when a community’s aims are countercultural, as they are in a circle of trust, its need for tending is even greater.  Lacking a leader grounded in the principles, skilled at the practices, and granted the authority to lead, a circle of trust will fail because the relational culture it requires is so rare and so fragile.  (Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness, pg. 76)

Palmer writes about circles of trust, which are similar to a particular type of sharing-oriented small group.  His comments about leadership in these circles of trust resonate deeply with my experience in church communities.  When relationships replace rules for dictating the way we relate to one another in community, the role of the leader becomes even more important.  Her job isn’t to simply hold up the rules and make sure everyone sticks to them.  Her job is to be in relationship with the people and shape the culture of the community so that love prevails in everything.  A good reminder of the importance of leaders to shape culture.

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In a soon to be released interview with Playboy magazine, John Mayer says that his “biggest dream is to write pornography.”  He says a lot of other thing in the interview that are unsavory and for which he’s taken a lot of heat.  This statement however mostly just gets an eye-role.  It’s seen as an immature “dream” but not necessarily inappropriate.  Thankfully, Donny Pauling, a former porn producer turned Christian highlights the perversity of producing porn in a personal letter to John Mayer on the devastating effects of being a porn producer for 7 years.  Here are the money quotes:

The biggest deterrent to producing porn is watching what happens in the lives of those who act in it.  I’ve shared my story with more than 4 million people now.  One of the things I’m often asked is whether or not I’m attracted to porn anymore.  I usually respond to that question with a few of my own.  You ready?  Here they are, John:

What’s attractive about a model curled up in the fetal position in a corner between takes, sucking her thumb because her mind is so blown by what she’s just done to herself?   Do the porn companies share, in the credits, a line similar to this one:  ”this girl had to have surgery to repair the damage done to her body by the scene you just found so enticing”?   Of course not!  That’s just not sexy, is it John?  Nobody’d be spankin’ their monkey if stuff like that was thrown on screen, would they?

Lots of my former models are dreamin’ with broken hearts now, John. And the wakin’ up?  That’s the hardest part for sure… because every morning when she does wake up, the stuff she shot for me is still there, as it will be for life.  It isn’t ever, ever, ever going away.  When she’s old and grey, when she has grandkids running around the house, that content is still going to be out there circulating somewhere, John.

…

When I received a round of emails and phone calls from a beautiful girl who was begging me, in tears while sobbing so hard I could barely understand her, to get her content off the Internet as it had ruined the relationship she had with her father… that wasn’t a very lust-inducing experience either.  See, what happened in her case was this:  daddy was leaving his office with his buddies.  They were planning to go grab a beer together.  But when daddy and his buddies got to his car it was covered with photos of his daughter in various explicit poses.  Dad was rather humiliated, John.  He was instantly ashamed of his little girl.  When he shared this incident with her, she was rather ashamed herself.  I shot the photos that ended up on daddy’s car, and when I did so it didn’t cross my mind that she wasn’t someone to visualize while chokin’ the chicken – that she was actually somebody’s baby girl, somebody’s future wife, somebody’s sister… a beautiful person who was born to be loved, not lusted over by millions of men.

…

From my model Karma, who has a baby who will never know his father (because men decided to rape here while she was passed out at a party – after all, she’s a “porn star” so why not take what they want, right?) to the girl who called me in humiliated tears after going to her college campus one day only to find photos of herself stapled on trees all across campus, I have seen the fallout from sexual “sin”.  It makes me ashamed to be a man sometimes, John.  Indeed, the female body is a wonderland, my friend, and so many of us use our hands… and lose our heads and hearts… over it.

Trust me, John… you don’t want to produce porn.  You don’t want to be responsible for devastating lives.  And no matter how good your intentions might be, that’s exactly what you’d be doing.

Pornography is so enticing for guys.  This helps make it way less so.  Hearing the stories of the people behind the cameras, the sad and devastated lives of the producers and actors/actresses, makes porn repulsive.  I’m grateful for Donny’s story.  I’m thankful he’s a christian and I’m glad that he’s sharing so honestly and thoughtfully about his past experiences.

HT: http://mattnightingale.blogspot.com/

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There’s often a lot of talk by Christians lamenting the non-religious nature of our government, but what I find ironic is that the early Christians faced criticism from the government lamenting that they weren’t religious!  The Roman Government repeatedly called Christians atheists and even killed them for it.  In fact, the first martyrdom recorded in Christian history outside the pages of the New Testament was due to just such a fact.  Polycarp, a devoted Christian was killed for not being religious 1,854 years ago from this upcoming Monday (scholars believe he was martyred on February 22, 156).

And when finally he was brought up, there was a great tumult on hearing that Polycarp had been arrested.  Therefore, when he was brought before him, the proconsul asked him if he were Polycarp.  And when he confessed that he was, he tried to persuade him to deny [the faith], saying, “Have respect to your age” — and other things that customarily follow this,  such as, “Swear by the fortune of Caesar; change your mind; say ‘Away with the atheists!’”

But Polycarp looked with earnest face at the whole crowd of lawless heathen in the arena, and motioned to them with his hand.  Then, groaning and looking up to heaven, he said, “Away with the atheists!”

But the proconsul was insistent and said: “Take the oath, and I shall release you.  Curse Christ.”

Polycarp said: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong.  How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

ed. Richardson, Early Christian Fathers pg. 152

To the Romans, Christians were atheists.  They didn’t participate in the religious practice of the Roman Empire.  They were often criticized, blamed and scapegoated for the maladies afflicting the Roman empire.  As Christianity spread and their numbers grew, more and more people reasoned that the gods were mad at the Romans and were punishing them for all these Christians who stopped being religious.  Significant writing takes place by early Christians trying to justify themselves as good citizens despite not participating in Roman religious practice.

I find it ironic that the tables have turned.  Now it’s the Christians who are in political office or positions of power that are the ones who are putting “atheists” on trial.  Our country’s problems are blamed on their faltering morality or their lax religious practice.  When natural disaster strikes, the economy tanks, an epidemic breaks out, or when they just need to rouse the troops for re-election these leaders are quick to blame all our woes on the “sinners” who are causing God’s curse on our country.

But that’s not how Christianity works.  God isn’t sitting in heaven waiting for a quota of religious participants to be met before he blesses a country.  He isn’t looking for sacrifices to pile up before extending his grace.  He isn’t looking for us to be good first before he can be gracious in response.  God’s favor and goodness don’t depend on our religious practice.  We can’t earn his grace.

A Christian’s engagement in religious practice is never done to earn God’s favor, it is always done in response to it.  God already loves us, and we engage in religious practice because we need constant reminders.  We engage in prayer, because we need to regularly refocus our vision of love for God’s world and for us.  We show up for a worship service on Sunday because we need to discipline ourselves to worship and give thanks even when we feel like complaining.  We engage in sacrificial service because without it we become so self-absorbed we’re libel to forget about the needs and concerns of those around us.  Religious practice helps us tap into God’s love for us and live out God’s love for others.

Like Polycarp, Christians should resist the notion that going to church and national blessing are yolked.  Like Polycarp, we should embrace the scorn of power-hungry leaders who use religion as political leverage and then call us atheists when we don’t subscribe to their agenda.  Knowing that Polycarp and the early church fathers were called atheists first makes me feel like I’m in good company.  Plus, Polycarp called them atheists right back.

Last night on my way back from Denver I had the privilege of sitting next to a cop.  This individual was working on a case aimed at arresting some people engaged in sex-trafficking.  She shared some stories, and she talked about the anger she feels when she hears the stories of abuse that these girls are subjected to.  It was sad to hear, but it was also a shocking reminder.  It’s all too easy to forget that slavery, human trafficking, and the sex industry are billion dollar industries that are often hidden from our sight.

Sex trafficking is easy to miss.  We think that it’s something that happens in other parts of the world.  It happens to other people in other countries — people who look different from us, or speak a different language than us.  But that simply isn’t true.  Women and children are stolen and sold into sexual slavery in the suburbs and cities in which we live and work.  The case she is working on is taking place right here in the US.   Here are some other simple facts about the slave trade from ijm’s site:

• Human trafficking is the world’s third largest criminal
enterprise, after drugs and weapons. (U.S. Department of State)
• Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the
commercial sex trade. (UNICEF)
• There are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 children, women
and men trafficked across international borders annually.
(U.S. Department of State)
• Approximately 80 percent of human trafficking victims are women
and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors. (U.S. Department of State)
• The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to
be in excess of $32 billion. (U.N.)
• Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic.
(U.S. Department of State)

As I talked with my new friend, I was struck by the kingdom nature of her work.  She said that she had been contacted by churches in the past who wanted to help.  They asked if they could do investigative work.  They wanted to go into dangerous areas and do stakeouts.  She begged them not to do that.  She didn’t want to get a phone call from them after they had gotten themselves caught in the middle of a shoot-out asking for help!  As we talked, it seemed clear to me that the church’s role is awareness so that we can fight against slavery at a systems level (advocating for better laws and funding to fight trafficking) and help with victim recovery — the church can come along side those who have suffered at the hands of sexual slavery and help them to find healing for their wounds.

The work that my friend is doing is really important, and only she can do it.  God is against slavery and the church is about God’s business, but we aren’t equipped to bust human trafficking rings.  Trained police officers who catch sex trafficking rings are doing God’s work.   They are executing justice against obvious oppressors of the weak and vulnerable.  Psalm 12 is one of the great psalms crying out for God to act on behalf of the vulnerable, particularly vulnerable children.  I pray this psalm for my new friend as she engages in God’s work of fighting against sexual slavery.  I pray that God would work through her to protect and save the weak and vulnerable caught in the sex trade.

“Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips—who is our master?”

“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,

I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.

O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.”

(Psalms 12:1–8 NIV)

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