A sermon idea based on Psalm 15.
Dallas Willard, the esteemed USC philosopher, boiled spiritual growth down to a single statement.
Do the next right thing you know you ought to do.
And that seems to be the message reflected in the fifteenth psalm.
Who is going to last? Who will still be standing when all the others have failed morally?
The one who consistently chose to do the next right thing there was to be done.
The psalmist gives us some practical examples of a life of DOing. They speak truth. They refuse to slander others. They refuse to do evil to their friends. They keep their word and honor their commitments. They don’t take advantage of others. And they’re incorruptible.
That is, those who take the high road and uphold their commitment to Christlike ethics are the people who will outlast all the others.
And may we all strive to wake up each day and start DOing the next right thing we know to do, one little decision at a time.
About the Artwork: Brooke, Richard Norris, 1847-1920. Pastoral Visit, Virginia, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
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