Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have said that Psalm 15 describes the perfect gentleman. King David, who wrote this psalm, says of the man he describes here that he lives close to God and will not be shaken. In other words, he is the stable sort, confident in his favored position with the Almighty. How does your character compare with this model from Psalm 15?
- He lives above reproach, doing what is righteous, speaking truth from the heart (v. 2).
- Slanders and slurs are no part of him. He does no ill to fellow men (v. 3).
- He despises sinners. But he honors the God fearing. He keeps his word even when it hurts (v. 4).
- He lends money without interest, and never lets offers of wealth corrupt his sense of justice (v. 5).
Sound like a high standard? That “life close to God” (v. 1) is the key. Anyone, however ungodly he may have been, can win that favored position with God, through faith in the Lord Jesus and repentance towards God. Now is the time to choose such a life, not after we have become wealthy, won a position of respect, gotten even with a neighbor, or finished some crooked business deal. Repentance is precisely renouncing such pursuits. Righteousness is keeping ourselves aloof from those attitudes. Only God can keep us on such a course, and He will help only those who choose to live that way.
Be that gentleman. Be righteous, respectable, and unshakeable. Choose right, and God will assure you the right kind of success.
“The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him” (Proverbs 11:3; 19:1; 20:7).
-by Dallas Witrner