PSALM FOR THE INTELLECTUAL

My friend Mike beat me to the punch and posted this on Facebook before I had a chance to post it here :)  Which is sweet, but here it is anyway.  A short one to make up for the last overly long one.

I wrote it as a counter to the disturbing trend of anti-intellectualism one finds among some Evangelical groups in the United States.  May the Lord bless their brains.

***

PSALM OF ONE BORN WITH A WONDERFUL MIND
composed for Marq Twine in 2010 by Yolanda

***

I am born with the mind You gave me,
Intellect,
Insight,
Discernment;
I am born with a love of questions,
Love of the answers revealed.

I am born with the mind You gave me,
A mind others may not understand
Or may distrust
Or may disdain
Or may even mock, to my face or to my back.

***

I hear the things they say, oh Lord:

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,”
People feel free to tell me.
          (But would they tell the athlete to beware his muscle?)

“Don’t overthink things!”
People feel free to say.
          (But would they caution the artist not to over-imagine?)

“You’re off-putting, talking over our heads,”
People quickly warn.
          (But would they tell the singer she is too dauntingly melodic?)

“Nobody likes a smarty pants,”
People condescend.
          (But would they lament the actor who is perfectly in role?)

***

This I pray, with the mind You gave me,
This I say with the mind bestowed:

As the dancer worships you in body,
As the caregiver praises you with heart,
As the soldier serves you with his strength,
Here, oh Lord, am I, the intellectual –
And I, here upon this Earth, I love.
I love!
You, them, and myself.
I love!
With all my mind.
   With all my mind.
      With all this mind You gave me.

- Selah