his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.”
Godly living involves the secret attitudes of the heart that give birth to actions. Right conduct is important, to be sure, for without it our testimony will be ineffective. But the believer knows that sin has polluted his entire being, and that it’s possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. A kind and generous deed, for example, can actually be tinged with strong elements of selfishness.
A little boy told a salesclerk he was shopping for a birthday gift for his mother and asked to see some cookie jars. At a counter displaying a large selection of them, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid. His face fell as he came to the last one. “Aren’t there any covers that don’t make any noise?” he asked.
Beneath the humor of this delightful story is a disturbingly accurate commentary on human nature. Although there’s the danger of becoming too introspective, we must examine our motives under the searchlight of God’s penetrating Word. It’s a healthy exercise that will give our lives a quality which the Bible calls “sincerity.” David’s prayer in Psalm 19:12 can help us: “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.”
Let’s seek to glorify God in everything we do. Our conduct will then be governed by fixed motives instead of mixed motives. Our actions will flow from a determination to please Him. With Paul we’ll be able to say, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity...we have had our conversation in the world...” (II Corinthians 1:12).
Two things we must learn to do
If we’d keep our record true:
We must act from motives purely,
We must trust in God securely. (Van Dyke alt)
Dr. Mike Rouse
What to do:
✞Check the motives of your heart.
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