"I will ponder the way that is blameless."
"I will walk with integrity of heart"
"I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless."
"I will know nothing of evil"
If I look at this list for a while, I find it daunting. How could a man actually do all of that? David, himself, did not live this way all the time, but these words are a God-given picture of a man that has clean hands and a pure heart.
Blameless: No one, not even God Himself, can point a finger at me and say that my actions, words or even thoughts are bad.
Integrity of Heart: Living a life that is honesty personified, not just out in the world where people see who I want them to see, but starting at home, where people know the real me.
Shunning Worthless things: Not putting before my eyes, reading, looking at, or putting images in my brain that will cause me to think impure or unholy thoughts, thoughts that are not worthy of the time that I have.
Knowing Evil: Bad things will not be my companions, my friends. I can recognize it, as God gives me clarity of mind, but I won't dwell in that land.
When I think about those 4 things, why does it seem like such an impossible life to live? Probably because I realize that I can't begin to do them, even one of them. Then the thought comes: I can't in myself, but only with the strength and power of God in my life.
David was known as a "man after God's own heart", and yet he failed. Could I do better?
Maybe not, but at least the reading and understanding of the standards God wants in my life can lead to reminders to live that way. They may only be pin pricks of conscience, but I can be stirred to remembrance. That can give me a head start toward the goal.
Fortunately for me, I can be forgiven, but how much better to have lived as He reminds me.
If I look at this list for a while, I find it daunting. How could a man actually do all of that? David, himself, did not live this way all the time, but these words are a God-given picture of a man that has clean hands and a pure heart.
Blameless: No one, not even God Himself, can point a finger at me and say that my actions, words or even thoughts are bad.
Integrity of Heart: Living a life that is honesty personified, not just out in the world where people see who I want them to see, but starting at home, where people know the real me.
Shunning Worthless things: Not putting before my eyes, reading, looking at, or putting images in my brain that will cause me to think impure or unholy thoughts, thoughts that are not worthy of the time that I have.
Knowing Evil: Bad things will not be my companions, my friends. I can recognize it, as God gives me clarity of mind, but I won't dwell in that land.
When I think about those 4 things, why does it seem like such an impossible life to live? Probably because I realize that I can't begin to do them, even one of them. Then the thought comes: I can't in myself, but only with the strength and power of God in my life.
David was known as a "man after God's own heart", and yet he failed. Could I do better?
Maybe not, but at least the reading and understanding of the standards God wants in my life can lead to reminders to live that way. They may only be pin pricks of conscience, but I can be stirred to remembrance. That can give me a head start toward the goal.
Fortunately for me, I can be forgiven, but how much better to have lived as He reminds me.
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