| You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you. |
| —Psalm 69:5 |
One of the classic ways that moms and dads try to corral their children’s behavior is to admonish them:
“Remember: God is watching what you do!”
While that statement is true, for God is everywhere present and knows and sees all things, He is not a hall monitor or cafeteria guardian. He is not sitting on His throne in heaven watching to see what bad things we will do next. Quite to the contrary, when He looks on the lives of those He has called to Himself—“Christ’s-ones” or Christians—He sees us as redeemed by the shed blood of His one-and-only Son, Jesus. The Presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit gives us a “marking” that God sees as a symbol of His mercy, grace, and abiding love.
King David understood this. David was not a perfect man. Though called by God and marked by God’s hand on David’s life, there were a number of significant occasions when David was not the obedient servant God may have desired. Nevertheless, David knew that he belonged to God. That’s what prompted David to write these words found in Psalm 69:5-6:
You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you. May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the Lord Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.
Here David sings a song that we could very easily sing ourselves. He acknowledges God’s “knowing”—God’s knowing all about David’s actions. Yet, David’s concern is that his behavior will not lead anyone astray. He does not want the shame that he feels for his sins to become a barrier to others.
In this world of darkness, and in a society where evil is often cloaked as “normal” and “cool,” we must long, as David did, to live in such a way that the shame we feel for what we do wrong will not impede anyone who might be drawn to God. That’s quite a challenge in this day and age. But, it’s one that we must embrace. After all, as Christ’s ambassadors, we need to set aside our own selfish desires and seek only to live in such a way that will bring glory to Him.
