Choosing To Do Right
Psalms 101: 1. I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
- I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. 5. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.
- My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me. 7. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. 8. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.
This Psalm was written by David, a man the Bible refers to as a man after God's own heart.
That means that even though David got off track and walked in sin, He loved God and made the choice to do right when he had done wrong. If you are unfamiliar with all the history of this great King of Israel, let me share a few points with you.
This is the David that slew the Philistine Giant, Goliath by striking him in the forehead with a stone slung from a slingshot. (I Samuel 17).
This is the David that committed adultery with Bathsheeba, got her pregnant and then arranged the murder of her husband Uriah on the battlefield. (2 Samuel 11).
In the first example, David was able to overcome the enemy, by His complete trust in God to see him through the situation. The Bible tells us God had helped David kill the lion and bear and would now help him kill the Philistine. He entered the battle unafraid, because he knew what the Lord could do. David had lived a simple life tending his father's sheep, and spent a lot of time talking with God. He was close to God, he trusted in him, and God who is always faithful, did not let him down. He emerged from this battle victorious!
But now let's look at the incident with Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 11:1-4: 1. Now it came to pass in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
- Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?''
- Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
Now, David at this time made a decision, that would affect him and his family for years to come. Instead of leading his troops into battle, where he belonged, he stayed home. Even staying home would not have been bad in itself, if he had chosen to behave wisely, as our original Scripture states.
Psalms 101:2 2. I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
When David wrote this Psalm, I don't know. One thing is evident, however, at this time in his life, when the wise thing would have been to leave with his army or even when he was on the roof, walk away from a dangerous situation, David chose not to walk within his house with a perfect heart. He chose to commit sin after sin, which resulted in adultery, an unwanted pregnancy and murder. And this from a man the Bible refers to as "a man after God's own heart."! This choice had repercussion for the remainder of his life. David had to repent and choose again to behave wisely, but there are consequences of our actions.
Galatians 6:7-8: 7. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
God had provided us with everything we need to live the Christian life.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
James 1:5: 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Proverbs 3:5-8: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6. in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
- Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.
- It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.
As with David when he slew the Giant, He trusted in God with all his heart and leaned not unto his own understanding , and he emerged victorious.
God provides us with all we need, it is up to us to reach up and take it, receive it for the gift is given by his grace and mercy.
It is like going to a grocery store. The store provides you with everything you need to eat a healthy diet, it is up to you to accept it, buy it, take it home, prepare it and eat it.
It will not happen by itself, you have a part to play.
It is the same with your relationship with God. He has given you what you need, you have to choose to use it and choose to behave wisely. This means that your relationship with Jesus Christ is evident in every aspect of your life. It means that you act the same at work as at home, the same on the baseball fields as at home, the same at church as you do everywhere else. You choose to behave wisely, and it starts at home.
Let's look at our Scripture again, in another version, The Message Bible:
Psalm 101 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)
Psalm 101: 1. My theme song is God's love and justice, and I'm singing it right to you, GOD. 2. I'm finding my way down the road of right living, but how long before you show up? I'm doing the very best I can, and I'm doing it at home, where it counts. 3. I refuse to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things. I reject made-in-Canaan gods, stay clear of contamination. 4. The crooked in heart keep their distance; I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil. 5.I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor; I can't stand arrogance. 6. But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people-- they're the ones I want working with me; Men and women on the straight and narrow--
these are the ones I want at my side. 7. But no one who traffics in lies gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars. I've rounded up all the wicked like cattle and herded them right out of the country. 8. I purged God's city of all who make a business of evil.
David describes the choices he has made to walk wisely. He refuses to look at corrupting people and degrading things. Look at the people who associate you with, who you "hang" with. Are they Godly people, do they choose to act right, do they set examples for there children and others. Do they refrain from ungodly behavior? At family gatherings, do you sit around and bash the in-law who is not present. Do you do these things in front of your children? Do you tell "little white lies", do you gossip about people?
All these things are choices we make everyday and they have a big influence on our lives.
If you have small children, they mimic what they see, and they grow up to be like you.
Look at yourself objectively, do you want your children to be like you?
Song of Solomon :2:1 15. Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
It is not always the "big sins" that cause your problems; it is the piling up of many little ones. Sometimes it is easier for us to look at ourselves and say, "oh yea, I missed it in a
big way" and ask God to forgive us and move on, rather than taking a good hard long look at ourselves and making major spiritual changes that will affect us and our family for a long time.
Even as King David the Psalmist chose to act wisely, make the right choices and start at home, first in your own heart and then in your physical home.
Sowing Godly choices reaps Godly rewards, but ungodly actions, reap sin and havoc in our lives. Just as David's one night of sex, did not show immediate havoc, within a few months it had completely ruined four people's lives, David, Bathsheba, Uriah and the new born babe, who died at birth. How sad. Choose now to act wisely, and reap what you sow.
Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do you want to be a joint heir with Christ?
If so, I urge you to earnestly pray the following prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, “…and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (Jn.6:37),
So I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13).
I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Ro.10:9,10).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, “… with the heart one believes to righteousness…” and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),
And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!
Glory to God!!!! Amen.