July 20 - Psalm 73:1-2

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those whose hearts are pure.
But as for me,

I almost lost my footing.

Psalm 73:1-2a

 

“God is good.” (That’s what this Psalm says.)

 

Me? I am slippery.

 

I trip. I fall. “I almost los[e] my footing” … again and again.

 

Humans do that all the time. In fact – in a bit of sad irony – just as I turned on my computer to write this, today’s headlines popped up. A musician’s son lost his footing and fell off a cliff in England.

 

Indeed, when I lived for a decade in the Mountain West, it seemed like every year, someone associated with our congregation would lose their footing while hiking and fall to their death (or near death).

 

And while my bride was never near death, she actually has scars in her hands from losing her footing along a mountain trail, shattering her wrist, and having to have surgery.

 

Gravity is a power force! We trip. We fall. We’re accident’s waiting to happen.

 

And sin is like that too.

 

As soon as we get comfortable and complacent, we’re vulnerable. When we compromise and cheat and compromise, we tempt fate. When we’re tired, our defenses are down, and we’re more likely to stumble. When we’re lonely, we sometimes (accidentally) go looking for companionship in all the wrong places. When anger festers (usually because we forget to forgive), we’re placing our feet on the loose gravel at the edge of a cliff.

 

Accidents happen.

 

That’s why we need to work so hard – all of the rest of the time – to make sure our “hearts are pure” (as today’s Psalm says).

 

Think about it … if even the most careful and most pure of heart will inevitably stumble and fall, that’s why we need to work so hard the rest of the time to stay pure of heart!!! Intentional sin, obviously, is a disaster waiting to happen. Compromise tempts fate. Complacency puts us at risk.

 

So to keep from falling and getting crushed, work hard to stay pure of heart. Not only does God promise to bless this (see verse one), but you will bless your life too.

 

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who wants real adventures

– hiking, kayaking, mountain biking --

not fake adventures

(and the cheap thrill of sin)