I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. – Psalm 38:18

Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2025): Psalm 38

The meeting happened at a major educational university in the late 1960s. It was the beginning of what we might call the Women's Liberation Movement. Women's rights had been a significant issue for more than a century, but in the 1960s, progress began to accelerate. Women were burning their bras in an effort to prove that they were the equals of men. A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a young woman who was complaining that she had to wear a top to her bathing suit in her backyard, while I didn't have to wear a shirt in mine. I told her I had no complaint if she wanted to go topless in her backyard. I usually wear at least a tank top in mine, but then our backyards are 3,000 miles apart. However, I was also never sure if she wanted to be topless in her backyard or if she wanted me to wear a bikini top when I was in mine. It is a discussion that continues today, but it seems to have started in the 1960s.

But these women at the University weren't concerned with the unfairness of what we wear. They had something more important on their minds. They had gathered to celebrate Eve; yes, the Eve of the Garden of Eden. There is a lot to celebrate about Eve. She was the first mother and the first wife, and for pioneering these roles, she should be celebrated. But this group of women had come to celebrate the first independent decision taken in history, and in taking the forbidden fruit in the garden, Eve had proven that she refused to be under the sway of any man, or any God. This independent decision was something these people wanted to celebrate.

I read about this meeting years later. I admit that I was alive in the 60s, but I was too young to care about these women or the University. As I grew older, I began to see the problem. We are all able to make independent decisions, but not every independent decision is a good one. At least, not every decision I have made has been an appropriate one. Maybe more precisely, these women seemed to be proclaiming that the decision was good because it was independent, and that is just not true. A murderer makes an independent decision when he decides to take a life, but it is not a good decision.

The problem that arises out of this situation is that nothing changes unless we see that something is wrong. Don't expect to see me wearing a bikini top anytime in the future, even if it is just in my backyard, because I don't see my backyard summer clothing as a problem. Nothing changes in what we do unless we recognize that our behavior is wrong.

David cries out to God that some of his independent actions have contravened the will of God. He is unwilling to make the statement that these women celebrated at a university in the 1960s. David was wrong, and beyond that, he was also bothered by his sin. And it is that reaction to sin that allowed God to move in his life and ours, and for us to make the changes necessary for us to become better people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 39