Choosing God

James Cathcart July 02, 2025 0 0

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Psalm 16 (NIVUK)

1 

Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2 

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.’

3 

I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’

4 

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5 

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.

6 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.

8 

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,

10 

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

11 

You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

It’s an old riddle and there’s two birds.

One of them — and this is widely known, not sure how — always tells the truth. He is an absolute avian paragon. There’s not a deceitful bone in his airborne little body.

The other bird — again this is common knowledge, somehow — always lies. He is a bird of low character. His promises are not worth the sandpaper they’re scratched on. Don’t trust this bird. This bird is a bad dude.

But there’s a twist. You’ve got no idea which is which. And it’s not like you can just ask them which one is which, as you wouldn’t know who to trust.

And this is a problem, because you need these birds. 

Or, more accurately, you need one of them. The nice one.

You’re standing at a fork in the road and you need to know which way to go.

Now, the answer to this riddle is surprisingly elegant. 

You look at one of the birds (Which one? It actually doesn’t matter!) And you ask him, “Dear bird, what way would the OTHER bird tell me to go?” And then… you just go the opposite way to whatever it says. 

Let’s say the correct way is left.The honest salt of the earth bird will be compelled by its nature to tell you that the other bird would lie to you and say “Right.” Meanwhile the duplicitous bird will be compelled by ITS nature to lie about what the other bird would say (‘Left’) and so he will also say “Right.” So you can confidently do the opposite of whatever this wacky pair say and go left.

When making our path through life there aren’t birds at the crossroads with widely known characters and poorly distinguished features. But there are a lot of people ready to tell us the truth, and many willing to telling us lies.

On the path of life, be like the psalmist, stop, think, don’t just take a gamble; think of the bigger picture and the deeper nature of truth and lies. Often in the noise of life it can be hard to know which bird is speaking. But how does this bird relate to others, is it willing to tell us uncomfortable truths, to break down the lies others would speak?

Prayer:

Dear Holy Spirit,

Sometimes we are as certain as a psalmist 

and sometimes we are as confused as a traveller talking to birds.

So we ask you to take us in your wings,

our very own bird of truth,

and show us the way.

Amen.