Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. – Psalm 17:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 21, 2022): Psalm 17

Mahatma Gandhi argued that "Truth never damages a cause that is just." If we serve a just cause, then pouring more light on a situation is never bad. Our concerns, if they are just, are always purified by truth. And it is only the unjust situations that need to fear the sharing of the truth. Or maybe put another way, if our cause is just, then there is no reason for us to lie or exaggerate the situation. But, unfortunately, we do. We lie or exaggerate because we think that it might help make our argument even stronger, but in the process, the lies destroy some of the justness of our cause and promotes questions about our truthfulness at the same time.

We don't know exactly what the situation might have been that David is facing; there are just too many possibilities and not enough information. But David believes that he has a just cause. As a result, he is not afraid of the truth being poured over his cause.

But David also knew that he could be deceived. What he thought was a just cause wasn't good enough. David wanted as much truth as possible to be poured over his situation. He wanted God to see the problem with his eyes and then have God do whatever he thought the situation deserved. Pastor David Guzik rephrases David's request this way; "LORD, I believe my cause is just, and I have searched my own heart for deceit. Yet I wait for Your vindication, and I want You to do and to promote what is right. If I'm not on Your side, move me so that I am." It is an appropriate request because God sees things that we don't.

For David, it is the way that he had reacted to Saul. He refused to lift his hand against the King regardless of how seriously Saul was hurting him. Instead, he was content to wait on God's timing and for any vindication to be his, and that God would do whatever was right in his eyes.

I began this post with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. Let me close with another one. Gandhi also asserted that "I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering." The reality of our world is that corruption is strong, and it is an animal that is often fed with even our best intention. So, that means that to conquer, to allow truth and justice to reign in our world, we have to be comfortable with the suffering that the fight will bring to us. And that is one of the things that makes the pursuit of justice harder than it needs to be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 18