A psalm of David.
I
Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
II
Whoever walks without blame,
doing what is right,
speaking truth from the heart;
Who does not slander with his tongue,
does no harm to a friend,
never defames a neighbor;
Who disdains the wicked,
but honors those who fear the Lord;
Who keeps an oath despite the cost,
lends no money at interest,
accepts no bribe against the innocent.
III
Whoever acts like this
shall never be shaken.
Psalms 15:1-5
Well it sounds like Psalm 15 gives us a good old fashioned examination of conscience. More importantly, it opens by imploring God for advice about getting to heaven. This might not be a bad way to approach life, by thinking about what endears us to God.
Of course, this is an ideal that we could never possibly achieve, isn’t it? Really, it is hard to shed our human nature and become perfect for God. In fact, I’m pretty sure it is impossible. But then again, God knows that, and He is patient and merciful with us. What a relief!
Still, there are a few lines in this psalm that I think would make a great mission statement for a Christian life. I propose this collection of ideals from verses 2 and 3 (in section II):
- speak truth from the heart
- avoid slander with our tongues
- do no harm to a friend
- never defame a neighbor.
This feels like a great way to focus our efforts. Maybe I am drawn to these lines because they recall the greatest commandments that Jesus pointed out to us in the Gospel: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
I am so happy to go into our weekend on this positive note. Let’s do our best to love our neighbors throughout the weekend …and maybe even for all time. Put a smile on your face when you interact with people around you. Spread the love of the Lord in our world. 🙂