Blameless.

I read Psalm 26 recently, and was really struck by the whole psalm, but especially the first few verses:

1Vindicate me, O LORD,

for I have led a blameless life;

I have trusted in the LORD

without wavering.

2Test me, O LORD, and try me,

examine my heart and my mind;

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you did everything right, and yet it all still turned out wrong? That's kind of the feeling I get from David after reading all of Psalm 26. He pleas, "God, I'm loving you and following you... I'm doing all the right things; why are you letting this crappy stuff happen to me?" He even dares God to test him; he's that confident that he's living a righteous life.

I can't speak for what was happening in David's life, and whether he was really living blamelessly or just thought he was (remember, he needed the prophet Nathan to point out the pretty obvious sin of sleeping with another man's wife and then killing her husband). What I can say, though, is that I'm really struck by the boldness David uses in asserting that he is a righteous man. David really believed that he was walking blamelessly with God.

Maybe it's just me, but when I approach God, I feel anything but blameless. Can you imagine living a life that is so steeped in being a holy and righteous person that you approach even God feeling confident that you are walking blamelessly with him? Maybe David was having a pride issue; I can't say on that one. But I do think it'd be pretty cool to live a life that gives me confidence as I approach God, knowing that I am walking in his ways and following his truth. That is something huge to work toward.