Accountability



Examine my heart, visit me by night,
     melt me down;
     you will find no impurity in  me.
                                  (Psalm 17:3)

We cannot live without the psalms. They are indispensable in our lives because the psalmist, in every instance, speaks directly to God for us in ways we cannot muster on our own.

The words are eloquent, furious, capricious, heartbreaking, joyous, desperate, soul-searing. In my Bible the psalms occupy about one-eighth of an inch of the depth of the book. But the entirety of what it is to be human is encapsulated in those pages. We dismiss them from our lives--as too many worshipping bodies have done--at our peril, for without their fortifying nourishment we are much easier targets for the devil. God grant us the will and courage to welcome them into the innermost recesses of our hearts.

Consider the verse above from Psalm 17. It amounts to a challenge to God: "See whether or not I have indeed given my life to you. See whether any corruption remains." Yet this challenge is a deeply unsettling one. Imagine that, at any given moment, we were to be melted down. Alas, what impurities would emerge at the end of the process: the dark detritus of arrogance, of pride, of laziness, of selfishness, of gluttony, laid bare at the bottom of the refining furnace in full view of all the heavenly host.

The comparison with aluminum recycling may actually be useful. Aluminum is one of the most productive of all metals to recycle. It takes 9 to 18 times as much energy to produce raw aluminum as to melt down and refine existing aluminum products for future use. However, the high level of impurities in aluminum products submitted for recycling is a growing problem and impedes the efficiency of the process.

Much of these impurities have to do with the paint on soda cans that contaminates the product and makes it unsuitable for uses that require a high level of purity. The comparison with our own poor souls is not so far-fetched: How uncertain we are of our own merit in God's eyes! (Read farther down in Psalm 17: "Keep me as the apple of your eye....") How often we give into the temptation to clothe ourselves not with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience (Colossians 3:12) but with glittering adornments that elevate our own sense of worldly self-importance and serve to better market our product!

In this world, we are constantly being perfected in Christ but we will never be perfect. Only Christ is perfect. Nonetheless, in the choices that we make, let us always be accountable to God. Is each decision we make one that will add even more impurity to the residue of our souls? Or are we doing our best to follow the teachings of our Lord?

I have not regarded what others do;
     at the word of your lips
     I have avoided
     the ways of the violent.

 My footsteps hold fast
to your well-worn path;
     and my feet do not slip.
                             (Psalm 17:4-5)

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