36 lines
1022 B
Plaintext
36 lines
1022 B
Plaintext
## 1:1
|
||
%% 4
|
||
> The Seat of Scoffers
|
||
>> Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
|
||
|
||
Occasion: Joining in cruel jokes
|
||
|
||
Lord, stop me before I join in cruel jokes ---
|
||
the quick line meant to get a laugh,
|
||
the pile-on when one person is not in there,
|
||
the grin that expects me to add one more cut.
|
||
|
||
You know how easily I can go along.
|
||
I want to belong.
|
||
I do not want to be the awkward one
|
||
who lets the laughter fail.
|
||
|
||
Teach me to feel the edge of my own words
|
||
before they leave my mouth.
|
||
And when I have already spoken,
|
||
keep me from pretending it was harmless
|
||
just because everyone laughed.
|
||
|
||
A joke can seem small.
|
||
But it hardens the room.
|
||
It trains my tongue to enjoy harm.
|
||
|
||
Give me courage for that uncomfortable moment,
|
||
when kindness costs me the approval of others.
|
||
Bring me near people who do not need a victim to be funny.
|
||
|
||
Lord, let my mouth close before the cut.
|
||
Teach me to use words
|
||
that don't make someone else smaller.
|
||
|
||
Amen. |