Psalm 26 - It's Not Me, Lord

When I read this psalm, I can't help but think of the child that gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, with other children who have done something disobedient, "It wasn't me! I'm innocent!"

It makes me wonder the circumstances under which David wrote this psalm, that he felt he needed to prove his innocence to God. He invites God to put his heart on trial to see how clean it  is. The other thing he does which stands out to me is in verse 6, "I wash my hands to declare my innocence." Do you know anyone else who did that? You got it, good old Pontius Pilate.

Why do we feel the need to do these grand gestures or to convince others that we are innocent? Probably because there is a part of us that know we are not. Maybe we stood by and said nothing, maybe we had the power to stop it but were afraid, maybe we didn't want to stand out or be made fun of. For whatever the reason, we understand that there is no innocent bystander. Nonaction in the face of wrongdoing is wrong.

David goes on to plead with God to treat him differently that those who are doing wrong. Do we also want to be treated differently? Of course we do. We would like to be treated as innocent or at least that those who took wrong action are more wrong than us. I have to chuckle when I think about that because the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Notice that it doesn't list certain sins, or provide circumstances in which that is true. Therefore, in God's eyes, all sin is sin. It is not judged differently. If I am a liar, I am not seen differently than the murderer. Sin is sin. We both need to repent and become clean before God. The only difference between us might be our willingness to humble ourselves before God and receive God's grace.

Maybe because we know that sin is sin, we try to convince God and others that we are innocent...but shouldn't we just say, Lord, I screwed up, please forgive me. It may not be easier, but isn't it more honest. Are you currently in a situation where you are saying, "It's not me, Lord."? Maybe it is time to examine it and determine if you too, are the child on the playground proclaiming that you aren't involved in what just happened.