Presumptuous!

The Word Leaped Off the Page

Presumptuous. The adjective took me by surprise. I was reading Psalm 19 in the Book of Common Prayer:

Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me;
    then shall I be whole and sound,
    and innocent of a great offense. (Ps 19:13)

Other translations use insolent, willful, deliberate, or stupid. But presumptuous is by far the most common. I had never noticed it before, but this time it hit me with a stab of familiarity. I wrote in my prayer journal.

Lord, there is so much of me in that word … or so much of it in me.
I tend to be presumptuous — to assume I know more than I know before anyone else knows it. I inherit it as a genetic flaw — an “original” sin? — in my family. But genetics is no excuse. It’s something I, along with the psalmist, need to name, to know about myself, and to invite you to change.
O God, help me listen.
Help me remember that humility is not thinking less of myself, but more of others.
I want to be whole and sound — wholly present with other people, not so absorbed in giving my opinion, but open, listening, waiting for a healthy response. Free from giving quick offense.

The Words of Our Mouths

It was no surprise to read the following verse:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
                             heart be acceptable in your sight,
    O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. (Ps. 19:14)

Presumptuous is so often about the words that come out of our mouths. It’s about talking too much, reacting too quickly, and not listening deeply. And that may be the most common, disruptive and dangerous sin of our time.

The 24-hour political chatter online and cable demands instant response to everything; knee jerk verbal reactions from politicians; the quick “share” of an online image or mime posted without thought to jab others without even finding out if it is true. When was the last time we heard a politician say, “Let me think about that…”

Elongating the Space

I’ve been rereading The Book of Joy. I recommend it as a possible antidote to the dark, nasty, presumptous mood of our time. It’s the soul-widening account of the conversations between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

Earlier this week I read Doug Abrams’ observation.

So much of the inner journey means freeing ourselves from the evolutionary response so that we do not flip our lid or lose our higher reasoning when facing stressful situations.
The real secret of freedom may simply be extending this brief space between stimulus and response … to elongate this pause and help expand our ability to choose our response. I will never forget seeing the Archbishop do exactly that–pause and choose his response–during a pointed challenge.” (p. 179-180)

Watching these spiritual leaders taught him “one of most profound examples of what a prayerful and meditative life can give us–that pause, the freedom to respond instead of react.“

Presumptuous. That was the word for me today. It might be a word for you.

Grace and peace,

Jim