Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PSALM 26
A psalm of David.
Declare me innocent, O Lord,

for I have acted with integrity;

I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me.

Test my motives and my heart.

For I am always aware of your unfailing love,

and I have lived according to your truth.

I do not spend time with liars

or go along with hypocrites.

I hate the gatherings of those who do evil,

and I refuse to join in with the wicked.

I wash my hands to declare my innocence.

I come to your altar, O Lord,

singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders.

I love your sanctuary, Lord,

the place where your glorious presence dwells.

Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners.

Don’t condemn me along with murderers.

Their hands are dirty with evil schemes,

and they constantly take bribes.

But I am not like that; I live with integrity.

So redeem me and show me mercy.

Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.

Bold Claims
The last verse of the great hymn And Can it Be says:

No condemnation now I dread
Jesus and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown,
Through Christ my own.
Amazing love!
How can it be That thou, my God,

Shouldst die for me.

I love this old hymn for it tells the story of my salvation. Each verse takes me closer to the God I love until I am boldly approaching the throne of God to claim my crown through Christ.

Most days I don’t feel as bold as David or Charles Wesley. I shudder to think what the outcome would be if I were to ask God to put me on trial. My thoughts, my desires, my lack of obedience in the small things flood my mind with guilt. I know what the verdict would be. Guilty, not innocent!

Then I hear the voice of Christ assuring me, He has taken my punishment, I am innocent because of Christ. In this realization I am humbled, broken, and amazed. It is amazing love. How can it be, that Christ, my God would die for me.

I thank you Lord for dying for me that I might live. Thank you for declaring me as righteous and then giving me the strength to live that way as I walk in obedience to you. Thank you for forgiving me each time I fail to live in your love. Your love is amazing. - Dan Jones

Arrogance or sociology?
Repeatedly in his poetry, and again in this psalm, David admits that he refuses to hang out with people who refuse to recognize God’s authority and insist on determining their own life direction and creating their own moral compass. He thinks this is a good thing and pleases God. In fact, it seems that avoiding the company of wicked people evidences his pure heart and warrants God’s blessing.

Dare I write it the way many would think or express their disdain for a man like this? Just who does the SOB think he is!? Better than everyone else?

Almost 25 years ago I read a fascinating secular sociology work titled, “A Social Construction of Reality” by two guys named Berger and Luckman. Their observations about the influence of primary and secondary social groups suggest that people like David are onto sociological reality rather than into arrogance!

Primary social groups, our dearest and nearest family and friendship systems, largely determine our perceptions of the world around us; our attitudes, thoughts, assumptions, and beliefs about everything – reality. If a person wants to significantly change his or her entire system of perceptions, that person must change primary relationship networks! The old primary relationships must become secondary. In fact, every social group with perceptions outside those one wants his or her life to be shaped by, but be casual relationships.

This is simple sociology – ah, common sense. So if I do not want David’s religion to be the primary lens through which I understand everything, he and his kind cannot ever become my most intimate social network.

But then, I do want to see life this way. So I’m hanging out with David and his kind of people; friends with everyone, but nearest and dearest with only those who help me develop a God centered view of reality.

God, with your help I will never develop an arrogant attitude toward those who view life differently. Still, help me to allow into my closest circles only those who feed and nourish my faith in you. - Mike Leamon