Truth in the Inward Being 

Pastor Duck's Weekly Devotional 

Taiwan Church News 2645, November 10, 2002 

Translated by David Alexander 

"you desire truth in the inward being." (Psalm 51:6) 

Siao-mei had been part of a group of teenagers arrested for watching motorcycle racing on the streets of Kaohsiung one evening. After the police had taken a report and released her, her parents spent a long time discussing how the family would deal with the matter, and it seemed everything was settled. But one of her aunts, a busybody, who felt that the parents and police may not have investigated things thoroughly enough, came to scold Siao-mei herself. After telling her how bad she was, Auntie demanded to know the complete truth. 

Siao-mei asked her, "do you want the complete truth?" and the Aunt replied, "Complete, don't leave out a thing." 

So, Siao-mei said, "Your clothes don't match, your hair is a mess, and you have bad breath. You also have exceeded your authority in this matter, since I answer to God, my parents, and the police." She paused and asked, "Do you want any more truth?" Auntie screamed and left the house. 

The writer of Psalm 51 knew that God desires us to be truthful, with God and with ourselves (truth in the inward being). To arrive at that truth, the writer asked God to: teach him, purge him, wash him, fill him with joy and gladness, blot out iniquities, create a new heart in him, and fill him with a new Spirit. 

If God did that for any of us, perhaps we would see ourselves differently, and not demand the truth from anyone else. 

Prayer: Create in us clean hearts, O God. AMEN