Psalm 119:33-40

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; I shall keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me go in the path of your commandments, for that is my desire.
36 Incline my heart to your decrees and not to unjust gain.
37 Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; give me life in your ways.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, which you make to those who fear you.
39 Turn away the reproach which I dread, because your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for your commandments; in your righteousness preserve my life.

This year, Monday Matters is focused on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

What's worth watching?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. -Philippians 4:8

The psalm reprinted above, a psalm you may have heard in church yesterday, is really a cry for help. The psalmist asks God to teach, to give understanding, to keep him on the right path, to turn him from reproach, all part of a longing for God to show the way. Have you ever shared in that longing?

The zinger that I find whenever I run across this psalm comes in v. 37. The psalmist asks the Lord to “turn my eyes from watching worthless things.” What we watch is often where we give our hearts. You might say that we are what we watch. What are the worthless things that come into our vision? By way of confession, I think of the excessive time I spend on social media. I think of the shows I watch that are hardly edifying, that do the spirit no good. I think of how my derangement syndrome causes me to watch the news over and over again, not making me more informed. Just making me mad. I think of a whole other kind of worthless thing: the savoring of resentments, the envy of those more fortunate than myself, the active resistance to forgiveness. All worthless.

It all leads to the question: what are things that are worth watching? It occurs to me that with the passing of Wendell Berry, we could take wisdom from those who watch the world through poetic lens. For instance, perhaps the most famous of Mr. Berry’s poems, “The Peace of Wild Things.”

Maybe we turn to the watchful eye of Annie Dillard, from her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:

Then of course, there’s the wisdom of Mary Oliver:

Or the teaching of Rabbi Abraham Joseph Heschel:

And no surprise, Jesus as poet as well as prophet and priest, guides our vision.

Finally, St. Paul speaks of what we should look for, where we should be looking:

There’s a lot to look at in this big, beautiful world. Some of it is worth our attention. Some of it: not so much. The practice of faith, the discipline of faith, the journey of faith, is a lot about where we choose to focus, what we look at, what we watch. May this week we be given grace to watch what is worth watching.

-Jay Sidebotham