bless, not curse
Pray the News – September 22nd, 2024
Bless, not curse
One of the main reasons I don’t like to spend a lot of time with the news is because of the warning given to us in James 3:8-10 (NRSV) – “No one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.”
God calls us to bless, not curse. I don’t think I’m alone in realizing that I am guilty of falling short of God’s highest and best, because my love is imperfect and incomplete, and I don’t always choose the way of love. We have all cursed others in our heart and sometimes with our words. To curse is to detest; call down evil upon; damn; denounce. God calls us away from speaking or repeating curses and towards blessing those who are made in the likeness of God: whether we agree or disagree with them; whether we approve or disapprove of them; whether we tenderly love them or are tempted to hate them.
Let’s pray. Lord God, we begin by confessing to you the sin of cursing others. We have fallen short of your highest and best whenever we have called down evil instead of calling down good on your precious image-bearers. Please forgive and restore us. Help us to love as you love. Amen.
And now, I invite us to silently name those persons whom we have cursed in our hearts or with our words, those whom we find it hard to love or to bless. I have also compiled a list from a variety of sources naming people who have significant influence in our world today. Please join me in holding each of these influencers in the light of God’s presence: 21 Savage, A’ja Wilson, Ali Khamenei, America Ferrera, Angela Merkel, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Bill Gates, Carlos Slim, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dev Patel, Donald Trump, Donald Tusk, Dua Lipa, Dwayne Johnson, Elliot Page, Emmanuel Macron, Jamie Dimon, Jeff Bezos, Jennifer Lopez, Jensen Huang, Jerome Powell, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kylie Minogue, Larry Page, Lionel Messi, Lesley Lokko, Li Qiang, Mario Draghi, Mark Zuckerberg, Maya Rudolph, Miley Cyrus, Mohammed bin Salman, MrBeast, Narendra Modi, Narges Mohammadi, Neymar, Nicki Minaj, Ophelia Dahl, Patrick Mahomes, Pope Francis, Rihanna, Satya Nadella, Selena Gomez, Shawn Fain, Taraji P. Henson, Taylor Swift, Theresa May, Virat Kohli, Vladimir Putin, Warren Buffett, Xi Jinping, Yulia Navalnaya
Lord God, we ask for your blessing on each of these people of influence and on each one whom we find hard to love or bless. You have made each one in your likeness. We ask that you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to each a spirit of wisdom and revelation as they come to know Christ, so that, with the eyes of their heart enlightened, they may know what is the hope to which he has called them (Ephesians 1:17-18b). For the greater glory of God. Amen.
