Our reading for today is Psalm 19:12-13:

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

Another scripture that comes to mind here is I Corinthians 4:4 – “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” If I feel good about myself, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right with God. I may think I’m all set but still have gaping flaws. Only God really knows what’s wrong with us and how to fix it. The fact is none of us would know where to start without God. He can see our errors much more clearly than we can!

Verse 13: “Keep your servant also from willful sins.” Have you ever known flat-out that something is wrong and still went right ahead and done it? I have. That’s scary, man – when a sin has that much power over you; when it indeed “rule(s) over you.” That’s when I’m a “slave to sin,” as Paul puts it. What a terrible state to be in! Sin promises happiness and in return makes us its slave. Pretty terrible deal. David knew he was capable of falling for the temporary pleasures of sin over and over again, so he said “God! Help!” That’s my prayer, too. I know I need it, every single day.