Reluctance to be decisive can be disastrous. Granted, we can rashly act and determine the wrong course of action. But, so-called "fence-sitting" rarely results in anything beneficial.
"I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me ... He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me." (Psalm 101:3-4,6)
King David's decisiveness with evil is clearly evident. No doubt his earlier reluctance to resist temptation - which resulted in a sordid affair with a married woman and the murder of her husband - factored in to the conviction expressed in this Psalm. Since sin so often begins with the eyes, David resolved to carefully screen that which he saw. Those caught in the grips of apostasy (a falling away from biblical truth) were abhorrent to him, so he also resolved to not let this plight fasten its grip on him. And, he resolved to be counseled and mentored only by those whose lifestyle was not open to accusation.
From the perspective of years, David more clearly saw the distinctive line between right and wrong. From his vantage point, he could see less gray and more black and white. Life is less about multiple choice, and more about true or false. Things help or they hinder; clearly one or the other.
Someone has said that our world is colored gray. Distinctions between right and wrong, good and evil, are blurred into a wide band of gray. Evil can easily be rationalized and situationalized, whereas good is strictly a matter of opinion and perspective.
The need of the hour is for decisiveness, and a clear perspective. Jesus said, "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:29) If a suggestive image on your computer screen, television, or a magazine, causes your eye to linger and your thoughts to imagine sinful things, deal decisively. Removing the temptation is less painful than eye surgery! And, unrighteous counsel from someone close to you, whose life is open to accusation, is dangerous; close out their words.
Several years ago the "WWJD" (what would Jesus do?) bracelets were popular. Perhaps something with the inscription, "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes", is needed today.
May we be a people who live with a decisive resolve to "examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
"I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me ... He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me." (Psalm 101:3-4,6)
King David's decisiveness with evil is clearly evident. No doubt his earlier reluctance to resist temptation - which resulted in a sordid affair with a married woman and the murder of her husband - factored in to the conviction expressed in this Psalm. Since sin so often begins with the eyes, David resolved to carefully screen that which he saw. Those caught in the grips of apostasy (a falling away from biblical truth) were abhorrent to him, so he also resolved to not let this plight fasten its grip on him. And, he resolved to be counseled and mentored only by those whose lifestyle was not open to accusation.
From the perspective of years, David more clearly saw the distinctive line between right and wrong. From his vantage point, he could see less gray and more black and white. Life is less about multiple choice, and more about true or false. Things help or they hinder; clearly one or the other.
Someone has said that our world is colored gray. Distinctions between right and wrong, good and evil, are blurred into a wide band of gray. Evil can easily be rationalized and situationalized, whereas good is strictly a matter of opinion and perspective.
The need of the hour is for decisiveness, and a clear perspective. Jesus said, "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:29) If a suggestive image on your computer screen, television, or a magazine, causes your eye to linger and your thoughts to imagine sinful things, deal decisively. Removing the temptation is less painful than eye surgery! And, unrighteous counsel from someone close to you, whose life is open to accusation, is dangerous; close out their words.
Several years ago the "WWJD" (what would Jesus do?) bracelets were popular. Perhaps something with the inscription, "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes", is needed today.
May we be a people who live with a decisive resolve to "examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
posted by steve @ 9:17 AM
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