Great Expectations

I used Psalm 101 in my guys' Bible Study last night. Here is an excerpt of David's poem:

 I will walk in my house
   with blameless heart.
³ I will set before my eyes
   no vile thing.

   The deeds of faithless men I hate;
   they will not cling to me.
⁴ Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
   I will have nothing to do with evil.

 ⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
   him will I put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
   him will I not endure.

 ⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
   that they may dwell with me;
he whose walk is blameless
   will minister to me. (NIV84)

This poem outlines two ideas, two promises that David is making to God.

1: This is my standard for myself

2: This is my expectation of my company

You may have noticed what is already obvious; David's standards are incredibly high. This passage resonates with me as a man not only because of how much David believes in his ability to rise to the occasion of being the man God is calling him to be, but also because of how empowered his responses are to the actions of those around him.

Think about it. The last time you heard someone talking behind someone else's back, did you put them to silence? Do you endure the presence of arrogant friends? David exercised restraint to cut himself off from evil, and he uses his influence to cut evil off from his presence. That's a righteous man.

Hold others to a standard of righteousness. Let them know. Show them how.