psalm 119:22

22 - Remove from me reproach

and contempt,

for I have kept

thy testimonies.

This verse tells us two things: 

1) It is okay to ask God to remove reproach and contempt from us. It's not just a "cross we have to bear." 

2) The best way to handle the contempt and disdain from others is to take it to God instead of man.

Reproach and contempt are two of the hardest attitudes for the Christian to fight. Nobody likes to be patronized or disrespected or looked down upon by others. There is an innate desire in the core of mankind to be liked, to have friends, to belong.

However, since the days of Cain and Abel, a pattern has emerged that the closer one draw to God, the more reproach and contempt they will have to bear. The more one attempts to live according to the Word and precepts of God, the greater the disdain and animosity that is directed toward them.

"It has often been the lot of those that do well to be evil spoken of."

~Matthew Henry

We have often been told that such bargaining is wrong and we should let God be God and take whatever lot we are given. This verse seems to suggest otherwise. David provided the example for us that it is okay to ask God to deliver us from reproach and contempt in this life.

"The best way to deal with slander is to pray about it: 

God will either remove it or remove the sting from it."

~Charles Spurgeon

This never gets easy. David proved that.

"Remove the reproach and contempt from me," he implores. And he even reminds God that if it is a bargaining situation, then he (David) has kept up his end of the deal.  

Can you identify?

"I've done my part, God. I have completed the checklist, I have dotted the "i's", the "t's" are crossed, I have obeyed all the commandments. It's your turn now, God. Keep up your end of the deal."

However, the challenge of verse 22 does not lie in how much reproach and contempt we bear and how well we bear it. 

The challenge lies in our bargaining power.  

"Bargaining" with God only works if we have kept up our end of the deal.  Be careful of asking Him to remove reproach and contempt if you have not kept His testimonies.  

© 2012 by Melani Brady Shock