How's Your Secret Life?

You've heard it said that who you really are is who you are in secret - those times when all are asleep, or when you're alone in the house, dorm room, or car.  I remember what it was like to be a sneaky girl, a sneaky teenager, and sneaky adult.  You know, when you want a midnight snack, or to stay up late and tell scary stories, or to read a book.   With maturity, you learn the value of getting your sleep and not eating so late, but do you learn how to behave in private?

I love this Psalm and have claimed it for my private life:  Psalm 101: 1. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, 

will I sing. 2. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou 

come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: 

I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.  4. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.

You've had friends or acquaintances "fall out" of the Christian way of life.  They never lose their salvation, nor God's love for them, but they lose the blessing of a life lived fully for the Lord.  "Falling out" happens when we "fall out" of our commitment to God in our private life.  Leading a double life, a public one and a private one, is just confusion.  I believe the old-fashioned term for that is "hypocrite", which we all are, but why make it worse?

David says in Psalm 101 - "I will sing of mercy and judgment." - These topics, mercy and judgment, aren't on the top ten list of Christian choices of today, but they should be topics of songs for us sinners saved by grace.  God is merciful ("At Calvary"), but He is also just and he will judge ("There's a Great Day Coming!").  Keep the right songs in your heart and on your tongue.  Does your secret life have an iPod cord attached to your ear with music that goes against godly morals and promotes loose behavior?  I'm not opposed to good, clean, silliness in songs, but I don't want to listen to songs that promote rebellion, secret sin, or immoral lifestyles.  How's your secret life of singing?

The next part of the Psalm that is a real help to me is "I will behave myself..."  We could leave it there couldn't we?  Just behave.  Stop it!  Stop the madness.  Stop acting a fool - like my daddy would say.  Be nice, be courteous, don't gripe, don't say bad words, etc...  Just behave.  Just do it.  How's your secret life of behaving?

"I will walk within my house with a perfect heart."  Wow!!!  Being good in your own house.  Does that include our attitude?  Gossiping? Lying?  Being a buzzard instead of a hummingbird? (listen to Pastor Bob Gray II, 5/2/10 sermons)  Kindness?  Reading the Bible and praying and caring and being thankful?  A "perfect heart" is a great goal to have, especially at home.  If you can do this at home, you can make it in the world around you!  How's your secret life regarding a perfect heart towards God and your family?

Here's a big one..."I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes."   Magazines, books, Christian fiction, yes, that could be the problem, TV, DVD's, Red Box, Blue Box, how about Yellow Box? could be classified in the wicked category depending upon the content.  Magazines can be a great source of ideas and inspiration, or they could take you to the pits.  TV, in its time and place, can be fun, but it can numb your sense of right and wrong if you don't change the channel, turn it off, and control it.  Movies are so easy to access.  You can go online, download wirelessly, and red box without anyone knowing what you're watching - but look up!  Someone knows what's going on - you and God.  How's your secret life of what you're putting in front of your eyes?

Last of all, "I will not know a wicked person" - your friends and your heroes should be holy and godly, not wicked.  Are you all about celebrities? rock stars? athletes?  Who's autograph do you want and who do you keep up with on a regular basis?  The Bible is clear - "I will not know a wicked person."  I might recognize them, greet them, be kind to them, and pray for them - but I will not know them intimately and will not be counted in their "circle."   How's your secret life of friends?

I have been blessed to work with teen ladies and college ladies for many years.  I'm not naive enough to believe that every action I see in public is how they behave in private.  We all need time to grow in the Lord and it starts by outward obedience in early childhood.  But ladies, there's got to be a point where we are what we are, for our own sakes, our family's sake, and the Lord's sake.  Not perfect, just forgiven, and working at our Christian lives.

If you have to do a "run through", "hiding game", etc.. before someone can come into your home, your private space, or your car, maybe it's time to do some spring cleaning in your "secret life."