Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:2)Deceit (dih SEET) n. 1. The art or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading. [1]
Why is there no deceit in the spirit of this man whose sin the Lord does not count against him? Why does he not feel the need to hide who he is, or at least bend the truth to make himself look better?
There are two reasons we might pretend to be someone we're not: 1) We are not secure in God's love and acceptance; or 2) we are not secure in our friends' love and acceptance.
The believer in Christ who has received God's grace need never be insecure. She has been accepted not on the basis of her performance, but because of God's great love. On the other hand, friends sometimes do judge us not only by our present performance, but often by our past performance as well. The person who is truly confident in God's love need not put on a mask for her friends. Her transparency, and assurance of God's forgiveness, may be the very thing God uses to make them aware of their own need for grace.
When did you first comprehend grace?
[1] deceit. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 11 Jun. 2010. (accessed June 11, 2010).
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