Righteous Thinking

One of my favorite things is to listen to the Psalms while hiking. Today Psalms 15 stood out to me. David asks "Who shall abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?" The Psalms repeatedly describe the characteristics of the righteous along with the blessings and promises for those who walk in righteousness. I often feel the need to bring myself into alignment with these characteristics. The Holy Spirit is always at work to transform us according to the truth of the Word. When our hearts are open, we should feel conviction and a desire to please the Lord and walk in His ways.

So today I heard "He does not slander with his tongue" (Ps. 15:3). I was thinking about how hard this can be. I'm the kind of person who says few things, but thinks a ton of things. I do need to work on speaking slanderous things, but my big challenge is to not think slanderous things. A righteous life requires righteous thinking and a disciplined thought life. I need to bring these thoughts under the subjection of the Holy Spirit. I need to willingly release negative or slanderous thoughts and give up the right to feel wronged.

Of course as soon as I was done the hike, someone cut me off driving home. Then the store I stopped at for lunch was crowded with crazy people who couldn't make up their mind. Then these rich guys kept cutting in front of me at the fruit stand. I just smiled and thought maybe I should try working on this slanderous thoughts thing tomorrow:)


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