“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24: 3-5 ESV
In a previous job, I used to provide resume, interview, and career search support. As a result, even today, friends and loved ones will ask me to review their resume and provide feedback. Recently, I helped a friend who really wanted the job. They were so eager about this job that they wanted to embellish some of their experiences to make it sound better.
I lovingly told that friend, “Nope, don’t do it. Be honest about what you did, because if you lie and get the job, God does not get His glory for opening the door and making it happen. Trust that if it’s for you, it will be yours as you are.” In these times our society is so competitive and there’s often a focus on self, that we feel the need to embellish ourselves or belittle others in order to move ahead.
In this Psalm of David, we learn that doing things that lack malice or ill-intent and do not cause harm (“clean hands”), selfless motives (“pure heart”), and avoiding idols, and speaking falsehoods and mistruths or mischaracterizations (“does not lift up his soul to what is false”), and being honest (“does not swear deceitfully”) is the way to receive God’s blessing and His righteousness.
As believers, when it comes to competition we need to be reminded that our only comparison is Jesus. Not anyone else on this earth. The world may say that we need to put someone else down in order to get ahead, but His Word says in 1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV, “...be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” Wow! Doing all of those things may not come easily for us, but we know that we can do all things in Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13). Rely on Him and not yourself to be His light in the world.
The next time you’re tempted to tell a “little white lie” or stretch the truth, don’t let your fear win. It is our fear that makes us think we have to embellish ourselves or attack others in order to get what we want. If you're wondering, my friend got the job and they received a salary over several tens of thousands dollars above the posted band, $43,000 more to be exact! That's God honoring honesty and getting all the glory!!
Our God has such great plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) that we don’t need to use these shortcuts in order to get ahead in life and rob Him of His glory. We are only in competition with our individual selves, aiming to be better and more like Christ daily. Live your life and be truthful and loving in a way that honors Him, and watch His miracles unfold abundantly in your life.
Reflection
What do I want so badly that I feel the need to stretch the truth or put down others? Do I trust God enough to make things for happen me? How can I be more Christlike in all of my interactions with everyone? What do I need from the Lord in order to let his light reign in my life?
Prayer
Father, thank you for the blueprint to Your blessings and righteousness. Forgive me for trying to take human shortcuts because I am afraid that I am I not enough. Help me to honor You in every interaction by being honest, not putting down others, and modeling Christ each step of my day. Give me your strength to do this. Break my mentality of using shortcuts to get ahead in life. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
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