Psalm 15
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 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;
5 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.
What you say you believe is almost meaningless – your actions reveal what you truly believe. Do you want to know God? That’s what verse 1 is referring to – who is in relationship with God?
The answer is not about the beliefs floating in your mind. Its actions:
*Doing what is right
*Speaking truth
*Not saying evil about neighbors
*doing what you say you will do even when its difficult
*Being generous and expecting nothing in return
May we take time this week to be self-reflective. I’ve been a Christian my whole life and I’ve long seen this as a group I’m a part of due to my belief in Jesus. But when I read the stories of Jesus, he seems very concerned with how his followers live. Simply being in the group is merely a first step. How do we live on a daily basis?
In a world where everyone criticizes others all the time, may we be people who spend time on self-reflection. Or as Jesus said, may we work on taking the plank out of our own eyes.
David Hershey 