King David made a simple statement 3,000 years ago that was easy to understand and apply, but today has become uncertain and controversial.

Psalm 37:3 says,

“Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

As I was reflecting on this passage this morning a number of things stood out to me.  The first is that reliance on, or faith in, God should result in me doing what is right.  My faith needs an appropriate expression.  In this case, David is describing God’s Word as THE truth that I need to embrace and live out. My will and my feelings are to yield to the will of God as laid out in His Word to us…the Bible.

Second, did you notice that to “do what is right” implies that there is a standard of right and wrong that we are to conform to?  Our culture today tells us that we do not need to live up to some imposed external standard of right or wrong because we each have to determine what is right and wrong for us individually.

Timothy Keller profoundly summarizes our Post-Christian culture when he said,

“Throughout history, all cultures believed the truth was something outside (the person). Truth, ‘capital T,’ was something out there (outside the individual). And in here (in us), we had feelings . . . When you found out what the truth was, you brought your feelings in line with it . . . We are the first culture in the history of the world in which we are being told . . . you find the truth inside; you go inside (yourself) to find the truth. And then you come out and you tell everybody you have to accommodate me because I found the truth. This is who I am. This is what’s right or wrong for me. There’s never been a culture in history like that. It’s the complete reverse of all other cultures.”

Today we are being led astray by the false narrative that truth is something I determine for myself. As Christians, we believe truth is something God has given us and we need to understand it and conform to it, no matter how I feel about it.

Father, thank you for caring enough about me that you not only provided your Son to be my Savior, but you also gave me THE TRUTH to live by as one of your children. Help me to better understand your Word and give me the courage to unashamedly live by it.