Psalm 101: 1 – 4 NIV
I will sing of your love and justice; to you, LORD, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life – when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
Most of us have at one time or another made a deal with God. If you will do this God, I will do that. At first glance, it looks like David might be doing the same thing in this psalm. However, throughout this psalm, he never makes a request of God. The whole psalm is a declaration of David’s intent on how he will conduct the affairs of his life. His motivation seems to be his adoration and love for God rather than anything he will get out of it. Because he loved God, he wanted to live an exemplary life. That is certainly a laudable goal.
It is also interesting to see what characteristics David chose with which to honor God. It is not surprising that he would choose praise and song since he was a musician. The rest of it is about living what he deemed a clean life, part of which is about the condition of his own heart. He decided he did not want anything foul to corrupt his heart. In truth, I think David’s concerns were more about a defiled heart than specific acts. I imagine modern believers proclaiming, “I won’t drink, I won’t smoke, . . .,” but David seems more concerned about negative associations and letting his eyes linger on that which is not wholesome. I think if David lived here and now, he would sound like a Jesus freak and pretty weird. Of course, he wasn’t always popular in his time either.
What price love? What is the cost of an extreme relationship with God? I find myself admiring David, but I wonder if I am willing to do what he did in order to develop that relationship. What of you? What do you want out of your relationship with God? Do you just want Him to take care of your needs and save you a place in heaven? Good enough. Or do you want Him waiting for you when you awake in the morning, wanting to spend time with you? And at some level isn’t that idea even a bit out there? That was David’s way with the Lord. They were friends and even though that is a bit mind blowing, we can have that too. Whatever you want, you can have. Some day you may choose to give up some negative friends or not even want to momentarily set your eyes on that which is corrupt because of the influence those things eventually have on you.
Give to the Lord what is in your heart as David did here. Your declaration will likely be different from his but make yours out of love and a desire to bless the Lord. As your relationship continues to change, the gifts of your heart will likely change too. Sometimes meditating on the Lord allows those things to bubble up. Whatever you choose to say to the Lord, whatever devotion feels right to you, will bless Him. Don’t worry about another person’s pronouncement of affection or that they pray an hour a day. What you and Father have is unique and awesome. Allow it to have its own expression. Let it out of you. Release your love and affection to the Father and bless His heart. That is a really cool thing to do.
