Psalms 15
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. Psalms 15:1-5 NKJV
This Psalm gives clear and specific guidelines for living a righteous life:
1. Always tell the truth. The definition of lying is “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Although we may sometimes try to justify “little white lies” in order to spare someone’s feelings, enhance the details of a story, make ourselves or others look good, preserve the peace, etc., the fact is that a lie is a lie. Proverbs 12:22 spells it out plainly: “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy.”
2. Refrain from talking negatively about others. This wise lesson is also taught by Paul in Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Words are powerful and are to be used for teaching, encouraging, and helping others. You should evaluate each word that comes out of your mouth before you say it. If it is not kind, necessary AND true, then STOP! So simple, but oh so powerful. We encourage you to try this and see how it transforms your relationships with others.
3. Detest evil in any form. God is always good. The absence of goodness is evil. When we make the decision to follow God and love Him with all our hearts, we commit ourselves to promote goodness and abolish evil from our lives. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). Start with yourself and make sure that you are getting away from bad influences, temptations, and habits that draw you away from God’s goodness. From there you can branch out and either support or join the efforts of those that are actively fighting against evil in this world in Jesus’ name.
4. Respect and pattern your life after people who are living life God’s way. Gaining wisdom and understanding how to live a righteous life starts with having and maintaining a healthy fear of God. People who base their thoughts, words, and actions on this truth will have joyful, fruitful, blessed lives. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
5. Keep your promises to others, even when it is difficult. This is not always an easy task, but again, the Bible provides excellent guidance for us. Check out the story of Jephthah in Judges 29:11-40. This teaches us not to make rash decisions, but to instead consider the cost when making a commitment to someone or something. But once we have given our word that we will or won’t do something, we need to make sure to follow through, even if it is hard or inconvenient.
6. Don’t take advantage of others. We are representatives for Jesus while we are on Earth. Our words and actions are a reflection of His goodness and light, and express our love and dedication to Him. Even when we are given the opportunity to benefit from the misfortune or mistakes of others, we need to make sure to stop and think “What would Jesus do?” Colossians 3:17 can be applied to all areas of our lives: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
This is not a complete list, nor is it a list of rules that have to be followed in order to be seen as righteous in God’s eyes. These are simply guidelines to follow if you want to live a powerful, blameless, stable life, one in which you will “never be shaken” (verse 5) by what life brings your way.