mere mortals

Words are weapons, or at least they can be. You don’t have to look very far anymore to find someone lashing out with words, often online, sometimes in person. The children’s saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” turns out not to be true. If only.

Yet God encourages me to think it is true. In Isaiah 51:7-8 he says, "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

I like to say that I don’t care what people say about me, but the truth is, I do. I’d prefer to be liked. I like to be complimented. I don’t like being ridiculed or corrected or disrespected. I care enough that it can change what I do.

I do fear reproach from people I care about, like my wife, or my boss. And while I can’t recall being terrified by insults, I can sure get mad. In those ways, what people say about me does control me.

God reminds me this morning that those people won’t be here forever, but he will, in all his righteousness. I can choose to forget the demands of righteousness and respond to the hurtful words, or worse yet, not do something because I fear them. But that’s short-sighted. When I do that I forget the other thing these verses say lasts forever: salvation.

Mean people can’t compromise my future by what they say. But I can compromise my future by how I react. Giving people undue influence over me is just a bad choice all around.