Contemplative Bible Reading

James 1:27 (New Living Translation)

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

This is one of those sentences in the Bible…I read the opening phrase…and…here it comes. Write this one on the wall or a poster or an Instagram or whatever it is we do these days.

(1) Caring for orphans and widows in their distress. Help the helpless in their helplessness. I can love the educated, erudite, enlightened (can I think of any other good words starting with “e?”), but how about these others? I think so. I think I’ve been doing pretty good on this one.

and then we have the oft-forgotten number (2):

(2) Refusing to let the world corrupt me. oooh, what does that one mean in practical, everyday terms? Perhaps I would rather go on drinking my hot cup of coffee after eating my big, delicious breakfast while sitting in a fine restaurant in the richest country in the history of the world. Have I corrupted myself in the world? Well, perhaps I should consider some of these other things.

That’s the kind of stuff found in this letter of James. No wonder lots of folks think it shouldn’t be in the Bible.