"Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully."(Psalm 24: 4)
As we journey through these last weeks of Lent, the season which for me has always been about a little self inspection and a some inner strengthening, I see this verse giving me a glimpse of perfection.
Clean hands, not thanks to soap and water, but because what I'm doing with my time, the actions I take the way I engage others needs to stem from positive motives. My hands may get literally dirty doing something positive, but the cleanness comes from the motivation.
My heart can be pure again by where my mind directs my emotions. Are those actions that I take stemming from love of God, love of neighbor and love of self. Or have I allowed bitterness, anger or jealousy to be my guiding principles?
What lifts my soul? Is it seeing the beauty of creation, and the image of God in others? Or do I look towards things which may give me momentary pleasure but leave me hollow in side or just hungering after more things?
While I'm not supposed to swear at all, if I do swear or make some kind of commitment to a person or a project that I will see it through. I don't just promise things to get people to stop nagging me.
What this verse really calls us to is a personal united front of heart, hands soul and mouth.
Blessings,
Ed
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