Becoming Engaged in Life

Reading Psalm 97, I got stuck on this verse (7):

“All who serve idols are put to shame, who glory in worthless things.”

When you prayerfully read scripture there is a form of prayer called Lectio Divina that involves meditation and contemplation.  Bishop Robert Barron explains it in his video on the Coronavirus, but there are others who do so also.

Anyway, I got stuck on glorying in “worthless things.”  If I asked you—“Quick, describe any worthless things in your life”—what would you say? 

Take a minute to think about it.

In Lectio Divina, there is nothing quick about exploring these things.  You take time, sitting in silence, open to any word or prompting that might rise to the surface.

It is hard for us, I think, to identify what we might imagine to be worthless, because if we truly thought something was worthless, we wouldn’t give it our time or attention, right?  It might not even be in our life, because everything we give glory to has value, right?

As we distance ourselves from a rational approach to our prayer and just let the Holy Spirit guide us, we may discover that there are things we are attached to that really have no intrinsic value.  I’m thinking about some material things to which we give too much attention.

Remember, whatever it is we choose, we are willingly trading it for something else.  What does that say for the value of the thing we are choosing and the value of what we are trading away?  Do we really think it is of less value?

Maybe we are trading time with family for an online game or an addiction to television or whatever.  I often catch myself wondering what great ideas might be brought to fruition today if we did not numb our brains so often with “worthless” things!

I know that sounds harsh because there is indeed value in allowing some self- indulgence, but when we go too far and invest hours of our day in things that do not add substance to our lives, wisdom to our learning, or health to our bodies, it may be that we are allowing “worthless things” to creep in way too much.

What “worthless things” might you lay aside today in order to become more engaged in life?

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net (podcasts)