2023-01-05 A Prayer: Sophistication

O Lord, protect us in our innocence and shelter us in our sophistication. It is so easy to smirk at the innocence, to maul innocence, to feel twinge of uncontrollable emotion, when confronted with the gifted novelty, innocence, sincerity, in a person.

See that we pay due tithes of our sophistication, while slapping backs and gladhappy amongst peers, that we not cover up too much for Your Spirit to uncover sins, patent unforgiveness, battles wherein we are not acting in Christian fashion. See us clever but not removed, blithe but not insensitive, self-satisfied but only because of Your discovery of who we really are on some level. See us reluctant to chip in to the innocent journeying of the congregation. Hate us, if that’s what it takes; hate our smarts about staying free of charge or trouble. Hate our sin.

We pray all this in Your Name, Amen.