Psalm 26

David comes off as pretty arrogant, doesn't he?

He talks of how good he is, how righteous he is, but we all know better. And so does David. In verse 11, we read:

I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.

Did you see that? He uses two opposing thoughts- He is innocent, yet in need of mercy and rescue. Why?

What if the idea we need to get here is that we can never be good enough to not need God? We could keep all the rules, do all the right ordinances, toe all the right lines- yet need salvation. Because apart from God, nothing is perfect, we are all fallen.

Human perfection is still less than God's desire for mankind.

The law will not save us, only rescue by the blood of Christ. The difference between righteous and redeemed is bigger than we think.

Psalm 15

It's really easy to read this as a formula for how to live. "Check this off and you are 10% there!" And these are good things to seek- blameless, honest, not slamming others, honoring God.

But this is not a formula. This is not the "How to be a good Christian" equation. What it is is the hopes God has for what we can be. So then, what does it look like for us?

Blameless/Righteous: Doing nothing we should feel guilty for. There is a confidence that comes from this, knowing we are in the good will of God, because we haven't done something He detests. I know for me, a lot of stress comes when I know I did something wrong, and I'm waiting for the punishment. I'd love to be free of that.

Speaks the Truth: Honesty. Not just telling the truth when we have to, but not shielding others from the truth. Being honest with someone can hurt, but lying is always going to eventually hurt worse. Tell someone what you really feel. And the flip side- tell yourself the truth. Own your problems, don't deny they exist.

No Slander/No Wrong/No Slur: It seems the 'it' thing is to tear others down. We feel better when we feel we "are better" than someone. Our words to others can kill their spirit. I get we tell jokes about one another, but we need to be very careful to read the person's feelings. They usually aren't too hard to see. Know when it crosses the line from "good, clean fun" to you being a jerk.

Despise the Vile/Honor God: We know that God doesn't want us to hate people, but we also need to know that God doesn't want us to want their lifestyle. I see this verse as a compare and contrast: There is not enough room in your life to honor God and adore vile people. This DOES NOT mean we are not to love people, it means we cannot become dependent on them and have the type of friendships where we need them more than they need us. We need to befriend and love them, but if it ever keeps us from honoring God, we must walk away.

Keeps an Oath: This is why I don't trust people. Too often, I am told something will be done, or will be taken care of- then it isn't. I know I can be guilty of it myself, but we seem to have grown really callous about not following through on our commitments. We need to be better about just being honest and saying, "Yeah, I know you want me to do that, I'm just not going to be able to do it." Just be up front, and don't make a commitment you have no intention or motivation to keep.

Good Lenders/No Bribes: If you're willing to lend money to someone, don't be a jerk about it. It ruins friendships. If you can, lend without expectation of return. And don't ever let money sway you to turn a blind eye to injustice. Boiled down, this verse screams: don't be greedy.

I say this is not a formula, because apart from Christ, these things are impossible. It is with the coming of Christ that it finally become possible to live this way. And to finally see the fulfillment of:

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?

Psalm 12

I generally don't trust people, it's just safer that way.

Really, I mean, look at the world today and you see verses 1 and 2 being proved true all over the place. You need not look to the news- look around your life. Friends will fail you, bosses will lie straight to your face, and when you need help- people vanish.

You think I'm cynical? Need some help with my trust issues?

Prove me wrong.

I give you that people sometimes mess up, disloyalty and lies are not a part of their core character for most people. But we all do it. Some more than others, some less. And so, I don't count on other people until they've proven themselves over a good period of time. Being stabbed in the back by Christians too many times to count has made me this way.

I, like David here, call out to God for silence for the boastful, unfaithful liars. I want God to intervene and call them out. And I realize this means me, too. I've hurt people with lies and haven't always been there for friends when they need me. I've even done some backstabbing myself.

We're all pretty false, aren't we?

Not God. His words are "flawless." Notice that contrast in the psalm- people can't be trusted, but God's words are pure. Right.

Flawless.

What I draw from this psalm is hope for those of us that don't trust people. Sure, we've been let down and lied to by friends, co-workers, leaders, and family. But not God.

God will never deceive us or let us down.

Psalm 11

When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?

This is the one that got me. I've been hearing this phrase or a variation of it for a while now, usually in regards to some politician trying to scare us into siding with them. But even though it is now a catchphrase, it doesn't mean it's not true.

For as long as I can remember, we have called the US a 'Christian nation.' I've long believed this is more of a cultural thing than an actual spiritual thing. I say that because if we really were a 'Christian nation,' the foundations would be stronger. Churches would be less full (yep, I said less) and more passionate about going to the people. Marriages would never last only 72 days (gotta be topical). There would be no controversy over the Pledge of Allegiance because the "one nation, under God" part would be visibly true. Abortion would not be the issue it is. Our savior would be Jesus, not a political figure or celebrity.

Looking at Americans today, we seem to realize that we are not- at the foundation- Christian any longer. And we are paralyzed on how to get back to that. Back to Him.

Verse 1 tells us how: take refuge in God. Run not to Dr. Phil, Oprah, or the government when things are hard- run to God. We as a people are not righteous (no, not one). God is righteous. We cannot save ourselves, let alone our nation. We think we can, and so did Israel. They begged for a king, a human ruler, but God kept telling them that He was their King. Finally, God gave them their king, and nothing really got better. Because they sought salvation by human righteousness, not God's righteousness.

So, when the foundations, the core things, are being destroyed, they are being destroyed by our hands. We are not righteous.

But God is.

Psalm 1

You know how you should kinda ease your way into new things?

Well that didn't happen.

On day one of the Psalm experiment, I woke up to a faith sledgehammer in the face of how far from living out Psalm 1 I am. Before I got to work (a 15 minute drive) I'd walked in step with the wicked by getting angry at bad drivers, and sat in the seat of mockers by making fun of the Prius driver holding up traffic.

The first thing I learned from that was that the first Psalm is about habits. Those I have are bad ones. They start by just one day of letting a temper get the best of me, or a small slip of the tongue or glance of the eye. Subtly, the instances have grown, and now they are habits.

Which led me to the second lesson of the day: I am not righteous.

Sure, we all know this, but when it is placed in the context of this Psalm, it's very evident. This Psalm says that the righteous will be prosperous in all they do. Today, everything I did turned to crap. Bills came in that weren't expected, a full jar of jelly was dropped and shattered by one of the kids, more business red tape for the Gate came up- I was totally overwhelmed, and I cracked. I got angry. I got frustrated. I got kinda depressed.

Then, in the midst, God said, "See, you're not so good after all."

Not in the "Gotcha!" way, but in the "It's time to wake up and see what's going on" way.

So, that's day one. Let's hope day 2 is just as informative and challenging.

But, maybe a little more happy?