Psalm 11: What Does It Mean to Be “Upright”?

“The Lord is just and loves justice: the upright shall see his face.”

In Pslam 11, we hear that the upright will see the face of God (the New Vulgate says the “recti“–literally those who are straight).  But what does it mean to be upright? 

We will get to specifics in a minute, but I want to start with a metaphor to consider: “Tallest poppy syndrome.”  The idea is that a gardener will look at a field of poppies and cut the heads off any that stick up farther than the rest.  It’s usually a warning not to try to stand out from the rest of the people you’re with.

So, for a Christian, what does it mean to “stand out from the rest”?

First, it means to be “upright” or “straight” when it would be easier to duck and keep our heads in line with the rest of the poppies.

Secondly, it means to live a life that makes no sense to the world. As one example, Psalm 15 says that the upright man is ‘he who keeps his pledge, come what may; who takes no interest on a loan and accepts no bribes against the innocent.”  Surely our world, where “everything has a price,”  does not understand giving without some kind quid pro quo in return.  A man who places principles above money surely stands out (and not in a good way, according to the world).

So much of Christ makes no sense.  “Love those who hate you,” “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery,” and most of all “Through his blood we have been redeemed.”  Christians don’t hold themselves to a higher standard that those of the world do, they hold themselves to a different standard than the world can even understand.

And what are the consequences for the upright man?

The psalmist tells us there are two:

First: “They are fixing their arrows on the string to shoot upright men in the dark.”  The world has no love for Christ and his body, which is a mirror that shows it its own depravity.  Every couple who bear the cross of a difficult marriage willingly condemn those who don’t.  Every employee who decides to quit rather than behave unethically condemns those who have made their lives a series of compromises with the wicked.  The Christian always has in the back of his mind this threat and stands tall anyway, ready to face the gardener’s sickle.

This willingness to suffer, to be made acutely aware of the hatred of the world, is endured because of the psalmist’s other promise: “The Lord is just and loves justice: the upright shall see his face.”

This is a central mystery of our Faith.  That we can only stand upright if we allow ourselves to be friends of God rather than slaves to sin, kneeling and debased.

This “un-learning” of the wisdom of the world is the greatest stumbling block for those within and without the Church, for it means that we must weep for those things we once treasured: money, sex, alcohol, fame, recognition, and the thousand other fish hooks the enemy uses to keep us from standing upright. 

One can’t help but think of the innumerable young people who “follow their dreams” of fame in Hollywood, only to be treated as so many pounds of flesh to be used and discarded.

But even this choice, the Christian knows, he does not make for himself.  As Paul reminds us: “By the might of his glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come.”

So, action items as we head into the Christian month of the dead.  Let us remember 1) how Christ rescued us from death to sin, 2) how it is in dying to the world that we can stand upright and see His face, 3) how we can repay this gift by praying for those who have died in body but are yet to be purified in soul.