Jude 1:9 · World English Bible
Jude 1:9 Meaning But Michael
But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
What does Jude 1:9 mean?
Even the highest of the good does not fight evil by becoming it. Michael has every standing to condemn, yet he will not stoop to abuse, because the moment a man answers the adversary in the adversary's currency he has joined him.
From the Clinical Psychology reading below.
Jude 1:9 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Clinical Psychology
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Clinical Psychology
Even the highest of the good does not fight evil by becoming it. Michael has every standing to condemn, yet he will not stoop to abuse, because the moment a man answers the adversary in the adversary's currency he has joined him. He appeals instead to an authority above them both. Contempt met with contempt only multiplies.
The self-righteous never learn this discipline. To restrain your tongue against something you are certain is wrong, to refuse the railing accusation even when it feels deserved, takes more strength than the attack ever would. A man who fights monsters by their rules turns into one. Stand against what is evil, and refuse to let the fight make you evil in return.
Clinical Psychology lensGo deeper in the app
Clinical Psychology lens
Live Jude 1:9 today
- When a message makes your face go hot, write the reply you want to send in a blank note, not in the thread, and then delete it. Send the version you would be fine reading out loud a year from now.
- If someone is tearing into a person who is not in the room, do not add your piece. You can say the behavior was wrong without going after who they are, and then let it drop.
- In a meeting where you are being talked over or blamed unfairly, hold your voice at the same level it was before. Say the facts once, let the room hear them, and leave the sarcasm out of it.
Where am I about to win an argument in a way that would cost me who I am?
The same truth in other traditions
Tao Te Ching
The soft and yielding outlasts the hard. Meeting force with equal force only hardens both sides, so the wise keep to the lower place and do not contend.
Buddhism · Dhammapada 5
Hatred is never ended by hatred. It is ended by its opposite, and that is an unchanging law.
Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius
The best revenge against a bad man is to refuse to become like him. His insult harms you only when you answer in kind.
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