Despise Vile Men

"Lord, how can we despise vile men and yet be able to dwell in your sanctuary?"

I ran across a blog post from The Armory which discussed worship, not just the music in church but all of worship. The question it addresses is, "What is acceptable worship in the sight of God?" And the pastor answers this question by studing Psalm 15. I had not before thought of the first verse as a being related to worship, but it makes sense that being in God's presence would cause us to worship.

The blog post is worth reading and if you have more time read the link to the PDF article.

In re-reading Psalm 15 again I took notice that part of verse 4 says "who despises a vile man". I thought, "how can we be in a state of worship if our hearts are despising vile men? Isn't that being hateful?".

In learning to study the Bible I've always been taught that the Bible will not contradict itself, and if I think I've found a contradiction, I have the wrong interpretation of the text. I can find numerous verses that say we ought to love our enemies. So what does this verse mean, "to despise"?

There are a few definitions of the word "despise". Dictionary.com has these three:

Despise (v.)

1. To regard with contempt or scorn: despised all cowards and flatterers.
2. To dislike intensely; loathe: despised the frigid weather in January.
3. To regard as unworthy of one's interest or concern: despised any thought of their own safety.

Note that although despise is a verb but not a physical action. But in keeping with obedience with scripture perhaps the third definition fits. So when verse 4 says "who despises a vile man" it can mean "who regards as unworthy any interest or concern in a vile man". In other words, don't let the vile men in the world bother you. They are of no concern to you.

To me this is both encouraging and discouraging. First, it is discouraging because so much evil surrounds us, and being emotional creatures it is difficult not to react. Second, it is encouraging that God's Word doesn't instruct us to take up battle with the world's issues as the world would have us do. Ephesians 6 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood. According to Jesus we should worship in spirit in truth. Our hearts will be raised to worship the Father, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim.