September 14
Navigating the Darkness
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
––Psalm 141:3–5
Sometimes I have this dream where I have natural night vision—where I can see in the dark even without night-vision goggles. What would be even cooler is to have night vision along with infrared detection. (Anyone else out there with superpower dreams?)
Of course, DC and Marvel aside, the only being to have such superpowers is God, who can see into our souls. The Word tells us, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10). That’s a sobering thought, isn’t it?
For God’s man, the question then becomes, “How can I keep my heart pure—how can I navigate this dark world and walk consistently with Christ?”
We have the Holy Spirit as our guide, and of course, the Word instructs us in all we need to know about staying true to our faith. In the day-to-day, there’s another powerful tool the Lord has given us, if we are humble enough to seek it: The honest, unvarnished words of righteous men and women. King David had a radical—but effective—position on the subject, stating that it is a kindness when a righteous man “strikes him” (Psalm 141:5). The Hebrew root word here is hālam, which also means to smite or hammer. It reminds me of the phrase “iron sharpens iron” from Proverbs 27:17, and it’s an apt description of the accountability process.
Nathan had the love and courage to confront David over his sin with Bathsheba, and David grew to appreciate how Nathan “struck him” with the truth. David went as far as to say that such blunt honesty was a kindness; that such a rebuke was “oil on [his] head.” That’s the kind of honesty we need from others, because there’s no person on the planet who moves with 100% clarity. While no one likes to be confronted with the blunt—or ugly—truth about their behaviors or beliefs, we all need it at times.
Genuine Christian brotherhood rests on this question: Do we love one another enough to receive correction as well as give it? Do we respect and trust others enough to invite them into the darker places in our lives—giving them the ability to see us in the dark by giving them permission to wear “night-vision goggles” and to strike us deep with the truth?
It’s true that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Pushing past indifference is tough—a lack of care and concern is what paves the broad path of destruction that Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. Conversely, when we enter into honest, covenant relationship with other men—where there are no secrets—God uses that kind of commitment to radically transform us. At times, we must be willing to give a rebuke to those we love; and we must also be willing to receive rebuke, especially from those we trust and love.
Father, I really hate to be corrected, but I know that You discipline those You love. Allow me to open myself up to other trusted men and to give me the humility to receive correction and criticism as You see fit.