MAY 30 "WHO ARE THE PURE IN HEART?"

 Was the One Year Bible inspired by God so we could read these stories side by side?  Our reading in the Old Testament is about David being told by Ziba that Mephibosheth has turned on David. You can imagine how much this hurt David to hear this news from Ziba, that the one who he extended his arm too, the man who said to David "why do you take interest in a dog like me", this man Mephibosheth, that David cleaned up, gave him his inheritance from his grandfather Saul, made him a member of his own household and had Mephibosheth sit as this table to eat with him, a King.  David is thinking his charity, mercy and grace has all been in vain and in a time when his own son has turned on him, this is just more bad news.  David tells Ziba, "all that was Mephibosheth's is now yours!"  This is exactly what Ziba wanted.  However, as we come to find out later, this was all a deception, Ziba was very impure in his motives and I find it interesting, that we read in Psalm 119 today, about how much David hates falsehood. David writes, "I hate those with divided loyalties". Jesus teaches in "The Beatitudes" about "the pure in heart" and Jesus is not speaking about sexual purity, Jesus is speaking about falsehood, Jesus is speaking about people who say one thing, but their intent is something completely different. The Beatitudes is Jesus getting to the deep core issues of what a Christian is, below, deep below, the surface. Much of the drama that we experience in our relationships, inside the Church too, is because people are speaking words, with an intent to deceive, with an intent to get someone on their side, with an intent, to get someone upset at someone else, with an intent to hurt that person, with an intent to stir strife. Ziba's whole conversation with David has been well concocted by Ziba. In the eyes of David the conversation is an impromptu, but to Ziba, every word he is speaking has been well thought over, to get an intended result. The result Ziba is looking for is to turn David against Mephibosheth,  to get David on his side and get his master's inheritance. David is the victim of Ziba's well crafted act. How many of us have fallen prey to other people's well crafted acts and have been manipulated into doing things and saying things, that we were set up for.  David falls for Ziba's ploy, "everything I gave to Mephibosheth is now yours". David will have to go back later an undo this statement as bad as it may make him look.The lesson we need to learn here, is not everyone says what they mean and means what they say, Christians included! We are not all Pure in Heart. Christians have done away with allot of the superficial sins, but some of the deeper sins, the ones that nobody can detect, but Jesus, still are very active and this is why Jesus says, "you must be pure in heart" this is why David says, " I hate those that are false, I hate those that have divided loyalties" because he has experienced himself, the hurt and the damage that is caused by people who practice such. Today, we have the unusual opportunity to read about David being conned by falsehood and we have the opportunity, to also read about David's thoughts towards such people and actions and can now fully understand why he wrote, what he wrote in Psalm 119. Chances are, sooner or later, you will be tempted to premeditate what and how you're going to say something to try to get an intended outcome (we are all masters at this) and/or answer and when you are faced with that temptation, remember the words of David, remember the damage it does and remember the offense you will bring to Jesus, "Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for THEY will see God", where does that leave you?