Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalm 24:3-6 (New Living Translation)

3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.

There are many things in this section of a Psalm. Who may stand in the presence of God in His holy place? Those with

1. pure hands and hearts,
2. who do not worship idols, and
3. who never tell lies.

Okay…well, wait. How did number 3. get in the list? Okay, I don’t lie. Well, I guess we have to decide what counts as a lie. I mean I don’t tell everyone everything. That would take a lot of time, so I kind of combine events and people and all to make the point and… That’s just exaggerating or “fibbing” or something, right?

Sigh. “Never tell lies.” I guess that is pretty clear. I don’t need to fiddle around here and find ways to make it into something complicated and nuanced or whatever.

Simply tell the truth. Okay, I can summarize things and ask the other person if they want me to go into all the details. Let’s be honest. Let’s be clear. Let’s keep our hearts pure and live in the presence of God.