Worship for Sunday, August 2, 2020

If you have two or more children together, eventually you will have a problem with tattling. It happens among siblings. It happens with playmates. It happens with classmates. It takes place on the playground, in the classroom, at home and at daycare. Becky has a couple of tools to help minimize tattling in the daycare setting. The first tool is a simple checklist to help a child think about the difference between reporting and tattling. In the daycare setting, as in all settings, reporting needs to be encouraged. The eyes and ears of all are needed to help keep everyone safe. Here is the checklist to help determine if something is reporting or tattling. Reporting: purpose is to keep people safe Tattling: trying to get someone in trouble Reporting: need help from an adult to solve a problem Tattling: can handle by self Reporting: important Tattling: unimportant Reporting: harmful, dangerous, and threatening Tattling: harmless Reporting: behavior is purposeful Tattling: behavior is accidental The checklist works well. Children are smart and much less likely to rationalize their behavior than adults. They usually can come to the proper conclusion about whether they are reporting or tattling. However, occasionally, tattling becomes a problem. So, the second tool comes out. It is the tattle ear. It is used in daycares and classrooms all over the place. Instead of tattling to the adult, the child can tattle to the ear. It may seem foolish, but sometimes children just seem to need to tattle. They are like adults who just need to vent sometimes. However, in order to not give credibility to tattling, the ear listens instead of the adult. It is amazing how the child can go to the tattling ear, get something off their chest and go right back to playing with the child or children they just tattled on. As adults we have a problem with tattling as well. We don't necessarily go running to a teacher or parent to tattle. We do, however, tend to go running to God to tattle. In our prayers, far too often, we are not praying for someone, we are tattling on them. Our goal is not to keep someone safe, but to get someone in trouble. We pray "sic 'em God" prayers. We ask God to punish those we perceive as having wronged us. We sometimes pray this way just because we think someone deserves punishment for their sins. This is not a style of prayer that is pleasing to God, even in the most deserving of circumstances. God asks us to pray blessings on those who do us harm. Matthew 5:44-45 - 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Romans 12:14 - 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. It is so tempting for us to pray "sic 'em prayers.", to run to God and tattle on others. How can we avoid this in our prayer life? How can we learn to go to God when we are feeling persecuted and under attack and ask for God to bless those who are attacking us? I think we can find some answers as we look at how David prayed. The Psalm before us this morning. We are going to look at the first seven verses and then the concluding verse. Hear the word of the Lord: Psalm 17:1-7 - 1Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! 3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. 6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. 7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. Psalm 17:15 -15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. This is a psalm of lament. We are not told the circumstances of its origin, but it could very well have been written during the time that Saul was pursuing David, seeking to kill him. In the verses not included in our reading today, David describes the situation. It can be summed up by verses 11-12 - 11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. 12He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. Rather than simply praying "sic 'em God" David takes some time for self-examination and asks for Holy Spirit examination. Notice what David's confidence rests in: 1) God has examined the core of his character (tried my heart) 2) God has searched for any impurities (tested me) 3) David is committed to speaking in a godly manner 4) David has avoided violence 5) David has walked in the will of God Because of this he has confidence that his cause is just Notice his prayer (refuge) Notice his commitment (satisfied to be in God's presence.) When we lament like David we can find ourselves praying for others, not tattling on them. DON'T MAKE GOD PULL OUT THE TATTLE EAR PSALM 17:1-7, 15 2 | Page