“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.” (v1-5)
I’m not sure about you, but I find it tough (or impossible) to live that kind of life, being blameless and doing what is righteous. I look around me in this world today and see that these characteristics are difficult for others as well (I mean that in the sense of a struggle to find mentors, I am not passing judgment on others).
How do we reorder our lives in such a way that our walk is blameless and our actions are righteous? I’m currently reading “Renovation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard. It’s a dense book with deep theological insight into the heart of people – the core of who we are. According to Dallas, and God who designed us, our heart/spirit/will, if aligned properly with God, will help us to align the rest of ourselves (mind, body, relationships and soul [the whole person]) with God. Once every interdependent part of our being is properly aligned with God, then we can achieve what David is talking about, since our actions will be governed by God, not randomly controlled by knee-jerk reactions of our mind and body.
I think Eliphaz was really onto something here: “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.” (Job 22:21,22,26-28) To paraphrase – “If you fully submit to God, and are in right relationship with Him, you will experience peace. As you hide His words and instructions in your heart, you will find joy and you will have God’s ear. Everything you do will be clear, blessed by God, and successful.” This is not a “prosperity gospel”, there will still be constant struggles in life, however, this process will forever change the way in which we handle those struggles.
Dallas has far more to say on the subject, and if you’re up for a challenge, please consider reading his book, or a simplified version such as “Soul Keeping” by John Ortberg. You will not regret the investment in your eternity, and the eternity of those around you.
My prayer for today is that the Spirit continues to teach me how to realign my heart with God’s heart, fully submitting to Him. Only then, with God’s abundant grace and mercy, will I begin to align every part of my being and live out actions that are considered righteousness (and not just filthy rags [Isa 64:6]). I acknowledge I will probably never be called blameless in this lifetime, however, that doesn’t mean I’m wasting my time trying to become the new person in Christ that I am called to be. Jesus, please help me to do this.
~ Conqueror in Training