01.08.04

Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD. - Lamentations 3:39-40.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. - Psalm 139:23-24.

Some consumer lawsuits have gotten out of control and it is obvious that there is something very wrong with our judicial system. Sears had a problem with some of their automotive work improperly balancing wheels. They were sued and in the settlement, the attorneys received $2.45 million and the consumers who were wronged received $2.50 a tire. In another situation cosmetics manufacturers and retailers were found to be price-fixing. In the settlement, the attorneys for the consumers received $24 million and each consumer received a free cosmetic. Recently my wife received a check for 21 cents in settlement of another consumer suit and the attorneys received millions. Any sane person can understand that the civil judicial system in the USA has some problems and that there is something horribly wrong with these settlements.

We of the human race are quick to find wrong when it does not directly concern us - aren’t we? However, what about in our own lives? Is there anything in your life that is out of balance that is horribly wrong and ought not to be there? In Lamentations, we are encouraged to search out, examine our ways, and return to the Lord. For some this is a difficult task. Take King David for example. David thought everything was perfectly fine with his life even though he had committed adultery and had a man murdered. It took the prophet Nathan pointing out the sin for David to understand how far off course he had gone. Are we completely blind to our own sins? Sometimes we have a memory loss and sin blindness when it comes to ourselves.

The Psalmist had a solution to sin blindness and it involves the help of another person, the person of the Holy Spirit. If we truly desire to be in a right relationship with our Lord then we should want to know if there is anything preventing that from happening. Ask as did the Psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

If the Holy Spirit identifies areas of your life that are out of balance the solution is found in 1 John 1:9. Confess your sins to God. Agree with God about your condition and bring your heart and life into alignment with Him. God will forgive you of your sins, and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. He will put your sins as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. How wonderful it is to have a clean heart and be in a right relationship with the Lord!