The Lost Art of Lament Writing

At one point in my ministry a group of clergy gathered and talked about an adult bookstore (a strange term) that existed in the downtown area. They began to talk about writing a letter to the newspaper decrying and condemning such a business as righteous Christian folk are prone to do.

During the discussion I asked my peers if any of them had every gone to that bookstore and looked at what they were selling. Of course, they had never done such a thing. So, I asked why we would condemn that of which we had no firm knowledge. They eyed me strangely. Then I said, instead of writing a letter of condemnation which likely few people who read aside from those who would feel equally self righteous in their condemnation of this perceived evil, that as a clergy association we write a letter of lament in the paper. A lament in which we would acknowledge our own culpability in contributing to a society where such endeavors were allowed to prosper and also lifted up our own self righteousness as though we were without sin ourselves.

They were, shall I say, a bit shocked by my proposal. I was equally shocked when they confessed a lack of knowledge about laments or had no idea as to how to write one. However, by this point that had gotten the idea I wanted to get across about mutual sinfulness of humanity and our perchance of making some sins bigger than others despite their merits.

I finally pointed out that a great many of the psalms were laments, acknowledgements to God of our shortcomings. I further offer to write such a lament and submit it to them for approval or rejection, revision, or additions so we could acknowledge to hopeful more readers a common problems we face when it comes to morality and sin. And thus in became to be, a modern psalm of lament confessing that we were a people who did not live up to God’s expectations or even the expectations of a moral society..

One of the attack ads against Newt Gingrich shows his many televised quotes where he states he makes mistakes. The ad obviously seeks to condemn such a man who makes mistakes; a maybe even more so, a man who admits mistakes.

You, who follow my writings, know that I am no fan of Gingrich and have a low opinion of his moral and ethical outlook. But I find his acknowledgement of mistakes refreshing and admirable. If only more of our political candidates would have the audacity to admit mistakes with candor and to admit that they have changed their views on subjects throughout their years; a mark of one who grows from mistakes.

In our society we seem to have a great difficulty accepting the sins and moral lapses of our leaders, as though we expect them to be perfect. It is naïve at best and just plain stupid at worst. It is one of the great strengths of biblical literature in that it writes about it historical leaders with a full accounting and their limitations as well; the inability of Moses to speak clearly and who killed a man in passion, the great King David and adulterer and manipulator of a man’s death. The disciples Jesus asked to follow him are rampant with moral, ethical, prideful, and faithfulness acts. But God loved and used these faulty people to accomplish amazing things. And God still can and does that today.

If we are wise, we will acknowledge the limitations of our fellow human beings, in leadership positions or followers and feel compassion for them and become more honest about our own shortcomings.