I Wish Someone Had Told Me This

“Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”
— Psalm 12:5 HCSB

Marcos here.

One of the primary messages of the church I grew up in was the constant reminder of how sinful, wicked, evil, and bad we humans were.

Bible verses like “there is no one who does good” (Romans 3:10) were quoted to drive the point home.

The whole idea was if you get people to realize how lost they are then you can point them to the savior.

It was like the old baptist preacher adage, “Get them real lost so you can get them real saved.”

But here is the problem with this line of thinking. It’s not actually biblical. And while we are at it, its not actually Jewish (the Bible is a Jewish book, lets not forget that).

Before I go on, let me clarify. I’m not here to suggest that humans are all good and not sinners and don’t need a savior. That’s not where I’m headed.

What I want to point out is that the texts that talk about humans being wicked, no-good, evil etc. all originate in the Psalms.

When Paul says, “there is no one who does good” he is quoting from Psalm 14:1.

But here’s the interesting thing about Psalm 14:1 - it starts out saying there is no one good and that all have turned away…

But then it goes on to say that evildoers “consume Gods people” (4) and that, in the end, God will restore his “captive people” (7).

So David makes a disctinction between oppressors and oppressed. And this isn’t the only time he does so. In the very next Psalm, David once again differentiates between the honest and innocent and those who are wicked.

In fact, if you study the songs of David (and others) you will quickly see that they always make a distinction between wicked people in positions of power and innocent people who are the victims of their abuse.

David doesn’t turn around and say, “But all you oppressed and marginalized people, you are good for nothing evil sinners too.”

Instead, he reserves his harsh “sinner” language for those in positions of power who, in turn, abuse their power. He does not use the same language to attack the poor and the suffering.

We see a similar dynamic in Jesus. His words were harsh toward the religious leaders — those in positions of influence and affluence who used their privilege for self-gain at the expense of others…

But he never spoke the same harsh words to the drunkards, prostitutes, or roughingans who surrounded him.

And I think the reason is simple. Jesus understood that the harsh condemnatory language of Scripture has its place, and its intended to be a voice of protest and resistance against those who abuse their social status in order to perpetrate harm,

But that same language was never intended to be directed at the traumatized communities who were simply struggling to survive.

Both are sinners, yes. And both need a savior, yes. But both are not the same.

To slam a poor woman who has endured abuse, rape, and maltreatment all her life as a good for nothing, evil, wicked person who is under God’s wrath is to ignore the very flow of Scripture itself.

Over an over again, God stands on the side of the oppressed, the marginalized, and the hurt with a message of healing, not condemnation. In Psalm 12:5 he goes so far as to promise a “safe place” for all who long for it.

This is good news because it shows us that God is not out to shame us into submission. When speaking of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah said, “He will not break a bruised reed.” (Isaiah 42:3)

Jesus is the exact representation of his father. And while his words were harsh toward those who abused their luxury and privilege,

…who take advantage of the poor for their own selfish gain

…and who crush the innocent for to further their political agendas,

He never spoke such harsh words to everyday people struggling through the cruelty of life and doing their best to navigate the traumas and injuries of heart.

He never broke a bruised reed.

Maybe you are a bruised reed. Life has been hard on you. Religion has hurt you. Church has traumatized you. Faith has been used against you.

To all those people in power, the ones who ignored, overlooked, or actively participated in your pain… God has some harsh words for them.

He stands up for you. He rises up against your oppressors…

Because you are his. And he does not take lightly when any of his kids get hurt.

But for you, he has no harsh words. He gets your pain. He gets that in so many ways, life has beat you down over and over again,

And to you he says, “I will put you in a safe place” — a place where you are seen, heard, and belong.

A place where your power is restored to you,

Where the lies of the abusers are broken,

And life can start again…

This week, my prayer is you experience freedom from misused textual rhetoric that has imprisoned your heart in a cage of shame, and instead enjoy Creators safe place for you — where you can be reminded how deeply you are loved and seen.

Yours in healing,
Marcos T

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