From Psalm 31 To Public Virtue: Suffering, Scripture, And Civic Duty

Grief knocks first, and we don’t look away. A young woman’s murder and the raw honesty of Psalm 31 set the tone for a frank, searching conversation about sorrow, courage, and what real faithfulness looks like when the world feels unsteady. From there, we move into the harder rooms of Scripture—1 Peter 3 on marriage—and ask how to hold honor, respect, and mutual duty in a culture that often treats vows as suggestions. The goal isn’t to win an argument; it’s to recover a pattern of life that keeps love sturdy and prayer unhindered.

The lens widens with Matthew 25 as we wrestle with works of mercy: feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and imprisoned. Compassion matters, and so does prudence. How do we protect the vulnerable already in our care while serving those at the edges of our attention? We trace that tension with clear eyes, resisting slogans and aiming for lived obedience that counts the cost and still says yes. Along the way, we step into history—a Berlin bombing, a Civil War sailor’s courage—to show how ideology without virtue fractures communities, while duty rooted in character preserves them.

Finally, we bring it home: men and women, honor and gratitude, strength and tenderness. Households ordered by Scripture become small schools of public virtue. Citizens who fear God choose leaders who tell the truth, steward resources, and remember they will answer to a higher Judge. It’s a call to lament honestly, love concretely, and vote with a conscience trained by the Word. If this conversation steadies you or sparks a healthy disagreement, share it with a friend, leave a review, and consider supporting the show so we can keep building thoughtful, faith-filled content together. Subscribe, pass it on, and tell us where you see mercy and wisdom most needed right now.

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Transcript

Tears, Distress, And A Tragic Crime

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Psalm 31, verses 9 and 10. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away. I am dying from grief. My years are shortened by sadness.

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Sin has drained my strength. I am wasting away from within.

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February 22nd, 2024. Date some of y'all may already know. Lauren or Lakin, sorry, Riley, Athens, Georgia. She was a 22-year-old nursing student. And she was jogging on the University of Georgia's camp University of Georgia campus. She was kidnapped and murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Also attempted to rape her and choked her to death. Sure, I'm glad you joined us for a little bit. And hopefully y'all are getting to listen to it with somebody else. I will try and use your time wisely. And for those of y'all that continue to share the podcast with others, tell others about it, thank you. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace, and your forgiveness of sins through the merit of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for all the blessings, Father, that you bestow upon us. The ones we admit and the ones we don't. Forgive us our lack of gratitude. Thank you for the things that we that we take for granted, Father.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Clean water to drink, clothes to wear, food to eat, a warm, safe place to sleep at night, cars that run, electricity, healthy people around us, people who love us and care about us. Please be with those who don't have these things, Father. Help us to care for those that are thrown away by society to love in the same way that your son Jesus Christ loved. But not with false compassion, Father. Not assuming that going along with what everybody else says is automatically compassionate or caring.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Help us to love with action and deed, not merely word. Forgive us when we don't. Be with our leaders, both in the pulpit and in the state.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Help them to rule in fear of you, Father. Be with those listening, guide them and bless them, surround them with your ankles, protect them from evil of any kind. Your son's name we pray. Amen.

Opening Prayer And Gratitude

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So hopefully this works. And there they are. You may have noticed, y'all will get entertained out of this anyway, that I didn't put my earbuds in. So hopefully y'all could actually hear the first few minutes of that. We'll find out, won't we? All right. Marriage verse for today. 1 Peter 3, verses 1 through 7. Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands, so that if any of them do not believe the word, then may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives. When they see the purity and reverence of your lives, your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, just like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her Lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right, and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. There's a lot in here, folks, that is not very politically correct, even sadly inside the church today, right? You would think I've got a friend of mine that's becoming a better and better friend. And one of the things he likes to say is somebody ought to write a book about it, talking about the Bible, right? And we were we had the ability, I had the privilege to share some coffee, sit and talk with him for a while.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

And you know, it it doesn't do us any good to have God's word and not read it. Right.

Marriage Roles In 1 Peter 3

Sheep And Goats, Care And Boundaries

Lament, Trust, And Integrity

Wisdom, Books, And Listener Support

SPEAKER_02 5:48

God did write a book about it, but we have to read it also. And you know, here it says, for example, husbands, live with your wives, treat them with respect as the weaker partner. There's a lot of people that aren't gonna like that very much, but that's what it says. Uh talking about women obeying their husbands, calling them Lord or master, depending upon uh which translation you use, right? But none of that is gonna fly very well today. Submitting to your husbands, right? And and you hear so many people today, even inside the church, say, well, that that's out of context. That was 2,000 plus years ago, whatever, 2,000 years ago for the New Testament. And that doesn't apply today. But that argument doesn't make any sense, folks, because if you're going to adjust scripture to society, then there's a huge chunk of society that doesn't believe in Christ as the Son of God, as equal with God. So if you're going to adjust the word of God to society, you would have to say, well, that brings the divinity of Jesus Christ into question. He's not God because society says he's not. So the idea that somehow Scripture magically doesn't apply. And you only you see these people, they only do it in certain areas, folks. It's not like they do it across the board, right? It just a cop-out. And that's it. It's it's and we all do it. We all do it to some degree. We all pick the parts of the Bible that we like, and we ignore the parts that we don't like. And we ought to have the maturity and the integrity to acknowledge that and work on fixing that. We definitely need to fix it in marriages today. Scripture for today, Matthew 25, verse 31 through 26, verse 13. But when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Notice the political right there, right? The good go to the right, and the evil to the left. Kind of fits American politics today, doesn't it? Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you were blessed by my father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then these righteous ones will reply, Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink, or a stranger and show you hospitality, or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you? You notice one thing about the stranger here, folks. Inviting the stranger in never endangers those around you, right? There's a lot of people that would try and use this to approve of illegal and mass Muslim immigration, but both of those hurt the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy. They're not kind, they're not caring. Inviting them in endangers others. And the king will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to the one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. Then the king will turn to those on the left and say, Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty and you didn't give me a drink. I was a stranger and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me. Then they will reply, Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not help you? And he will answer, I tell you the truth, when you refuse to help the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me. Also, interesting use of brothers and sisters there, right? Um Do we focus on helping our fellow brothers and sisters before we look outside of our family? Whether you're talking about your little family, your literal family, the family of your nation like America here, the family of your community of church, right? Your fellow Christians. And they will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. At that same time, the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. But not during the Passover celebration, they agreed, or the people may riot. Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. The disciples were indignant when they saw this. What a waste, they said. It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, replied, Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the good news is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed. Tears blur my eyes, my body and soul are withering away, I am dying from grief. My years are shortened by sadness, sin has drained my strength, I am wasting away from within. I am scorned by all my enemies, and despised by my neighbors. Even my friends are afraid to come near me. When they see me on the street, they run the other way. I am ignored, as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot. I have heard the many rumors about me, and I am surrounded by terror. My enemies conspire against me, plotting to take my life. But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, You are my God. My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. Let your favor shine on your servant, and your unfailing love rescue me. Don't let me be disgraced, O Lord, for I call out to you for help. Let the wicked be disgraced, let them lie silent in the grave. Silence their lying lips, those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly. Man, we got a lot of that in the country right now, don't we? Lying lips, the proud and arrogant that accuse the godly, the righteous, people doing a good job. How many of us do we do we trust God? Right? Do we acknowledge that our future is in his hands as Christians? I struggle with that, folks. Because what if what God wants knows what's best for me is not what I want, right? Proverbs 8, verses 12 through 13. I, wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. All right. If you run through this real quick and disappear for a second, maybe. Yep. I should put these where I could reach them. Uh, countryside, if you get a chance, if you're looking for a middle grade fantasy, right? Um along the lines of Narnia, the Hobbit, Percy Jackson, if you get a chance to check those out, I would appreciate it. And if you enjoy them, if you could leave a review online, I would appreciate that as well. And if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast on a semi-regular basis, if you could leave a review for that. And if you have five or ten dollars a month that you can donate to the podcast, that would help immensely. So thank you. 4 February 1972, West Berlin, West Germany. The leftist group 2 June movement carried out a bomb attack against the British military and a British yacht club used by armed forces personnel. That sounds a little bit reminiscent of the people attacking the ICE agents in Minneapolis, right? The leftist attacking the ICE agents, federal agents. So they set a bomb and it wounded one person, caused a little property damage. And this two June movement was named after a 1967 police killing of a student protester, Benno on Onazorg. I'm probably not saying that right, and I apologize. The interesting thing about that, right, is who was that guy? He was a student. Right? There's there's you see that connection. You see that connection. Academics, leftism, violence, hatred, chaos, bombings. So anyway, February 4th, 1972. Medal of Honor, winner for today, John Breen. Rank Boatswain's mate, U.S. Civil War, USS Commodore Perry, U.S. Navy October 3rd, 1862, Franklin, Virginia. On board the USS Commodore Perry in the attack upon Franklin, Virginia, 3 October, 1862, with enemy fire raking the deck of his ship and blockades thwarting her progress. As the Commodore Perry fought a gallant battle to silence many rebel batteries as she steamed down the Blackwater River. Remained at his post and performed his duties with fire raking the deck of the ship. You know that got a little dicey. Accredited to New York, not a warm but awarded posthumously, born 1827, New York, New York, died December 13, 1885, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, buried Cavalry Cemetery, 5TEC 293W, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. John Breen. This is out of his History of the United States, and it's an appendix for advice to the young. I think we're going to spend a few days here. This is paragraph 49 and 50, if we can get to both of them. When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, just men who will rule in the fear of God. One of the reasons we pray for it each day or most days. The preservation of a Republican government, Republican little R, not talking about the Republican Party. Preservation of a Republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted. Laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes. Corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws. The public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men, and the rights of the citizens be violated or disregarded. How much does that sound like some of the recent bills going through Congress with all these attachments, these add-ons, these earmarks, right? You can't just pass a simple bill. You have to add all these things to it, right? It should never be. That's a bad, horrible sign, folks. If a Republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands and elect bad men to make and administer the laws. Intriguing men can never be safely trusted. And you have to throw women in there today. You're looking at, for example, the representative up there in Minnesota. You've got people that have no interest in what's best for America at all. Right? It's power, it's greed, it's selfishness, it's other countries, it's people that hate America. You see that paragraph playing out now. And folks, we we want to point fingers at all these other people, but we've been on this road for a while, for decades, because we've been lazy. We've given our time and energy and attention to sports, entertainment, social media, all these other things. And we're not paying attention to the really important things Christ, God, our marriage, our families, the political ramifications of how we vote, right? Our schools. Paragraph 50. To young men, I would recommend that their treatment of females should be always characterized by kindness, delicacy, and respect. The tender sex look to men for protection and support. Females, when properly educated and devoted to their appropriate duties, are qualified to add greatly to the happiness of society and of domestic life. Notice appropriate duties, folks. When we don't fulfill our roles as men and women, and they're different, they're not the same. Things go awry. When you have a husband and a wife both competing for the same tasks, the same roles, it just doesn't work. It leads to chaos, bitterness, heartache, resentment. When you have a woman who is fulfilling her duty, she is absolutely a force multiplier, a treasure beyond all worth, right? The greatest treasure God can give a man in this life is a godly, noble wife. But when you have a woman that is trying to do, to fulfill a man's role, it becomes like a cancer in the bones, like a rottenness in the body, right? Straight out of Proverbs. Endowed with finer sensibilities than men, they are quick to learn and to practice the civilities and courtesies of life. Their reputation requires the nice observance of the rules of decorum, and their presence and example impose most salutary restraints on the ruder passions and less polished manners of the other sex. You can definitely say that about a lot of the men, less polished manners. Reminds me of time in the Marine Corps. In the circle of domestic duties, they are cheerful companions of their husbands. They give grace and joy to prosperity, consolation, and support to adversity. When we see an affectionate wife devoted to her domestic duties, cheering her husband with smiles, and as a mother carefully tending and anxiously guarding her children and forming their minds to virtue and to piety, or watching with conjugal or maternal tenderness over the bed of sickness. We cannot fail to number among the chief temporal advantages of Christianity the elevation of female character. Let justice then be done to their merits, guard their purity, defend their honor. Treat them with tenderness and respect. All those so good, so needed. Right. I saw a post on X within the last day or so, and they were talking about the fact that there are so many men that are tired of doing their job and the lack of gratitude from so many women today. Um and I thought of two things at that. One, it's true, but the good men are going to keep doing their job regardless because that's what they're called to do. But it doesn't mean they're not tired of that lack of gratitude. But when women fulfill their God-given roles and responsibilities, man, it's just uh as the Bible tells you, it's it's they're worth more than any treasure, any rubies or gold, right? Just phenomenal. And we ought to praise those women. And what is what does he say? Let justice then be done to their merits. Those women ought to know how important they are. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.