Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.
What is Your Busyness Doing?
Many of us feel too busy. But, as Alan Noble explains, some forms of busyness can have seriously negative spiritual consequences.
It seems to me that busyness is deceptive. It often starts out virtuous, a courageous effort to manage the daily affairs of your life for the sake of your loved ones and to honor God—in the model of the ant. But the rhythms of hustle can overtake you. They can be seductive. There is a numbness that sets in when you are busy. Your mind is preoccupied with obligations and must-do’s and planning for the future so that sins, conflicts, problems, and issues in your life that aren’t directly related to your busyness get submerged, ignored. What started out virtuous seems to take up more and more space in your consciousness. You begin answering emails at all hours of the day. You check your phone constantly. You feel the need to stay “plugged in.” You feel uncomfortable when you aren’t actively doing something “productive.” This is acedia. And it’s tied to the refusal to believe that God is sovereign over all creation.
Who Are the Righteous Mentioned Throughout the Psalms?
Admit it—you’ve wondered who the Psalms are referring to when they mention “the righteous.” Christopher Ash is here to help.
First, we struggle to know what to make of it when psalmists claim to be righteous, sometimes in quite strong terms. For example, the prayer “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness / and according to the integrity that is in me” (Ps. 7:8) rather alarms us. What if the Lord did judge me according to my righteousness? He would find it severely wanting. Dare I pray this?
In an Artist’s Studio
Our poem of the week: In an Artist’s Studio, by Christina Rossetti. This is a sonnet about an artist and his love/subject.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.