Psalm 26:2-7 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“2Test me, O LORD, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.
3For Your loving devotion is before my eyes,
and I have walked in Your truth.
4I do not sit with deceitful men,
nor keep company with hypocrites.
5I hate the mob of evildoers,
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
6I wash my hands in innocence
that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
7to raise my voice in thanksgiving
and declare all Your wonderful works.”

Don’t Be a Hypocrite!

Faith in Jesus Christ is meant to deliver us out of our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now honor God with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. So we are to come out from the world and to be separate. Yet we are to still live in the world. We are still to be among the people of the world. But we are not to join in with the world in their sins. We are not to be influenced by the worldly to be deceitful hypocritical liars who profess one thing while we live the opposite of what we profess with our lips.

Past Trauma and Hurt

And this brings me to a subject which I have been somewhat aware of for quite some time, but which I believe is reaching another level. Many of us were abused as children and/or also as adults by other people. We were hurt by the cruelty and mistreatment which we faced at the hands of others. Another word for this is “trauma” which can have to do with physical, mental, emotional, and/or moral wounds to the mind, body, and soul. And they can have a deep impact on how we live and on how we treat others.

But the saving faith in Jesus Christ, as we surrender our lives to the Lord, can heal those wounds. As we begin to live for the Lord, and to walk in his ways, we can begin that healing process. And we can learn to forgive those who did evil against us. And we can learn to love our enemies and to do good to those who did evil to us. But some of those wounds may be so deep that we don’t even know they are there until something brings them to the surface. But then we need to forgive others and trust the Lord for healing.

Making Excuses

Some people, though, even if they profess faith in Jesus Christ, will knowingly and deliberately hold on to bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, and hate. And they will be ruled by what is eating away at them on the inside. And they will treat others in the manner in which they were treated, or according to all the bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, selfishness, and pride stored up inside their hearts. And, until they let go of what is stored up in their hearts, they will continue on that sinful path.

But what is standing out to me right now is that there is a teaching, of sorts, which has been popularized, which is allowing those who continue in sin against other people, who deliberately do what they know is evil against others, to use a past hurt or a past trauma as an excuse both for their continued sinful behaviors and as an excuse for them to hurt (abuse, mistreat) other people, perhaps in the same manner in which they were mistreated or that they perceived that they were abused in some way.

No Excuses!

But God does not give us a pass to sin against others just because we were sinned against by others, or because we felt we were somehow mistreated. As those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are called of God to die with him to sin, and to walk in obedience to his commands (in practice), and to love our enemies, and to pray for them, and to do good to them and to not do them harm. And we are to forgive those who mistreated us, and we are not to take revenge, especially if the revenge is taken out on the innocent.

But if we knowingly and willfully hold on to bitterness, resentment, hate, and unforgiveness against those we believed did us harm, whether or not they did, in reality, we will not have victory over sin. We will not be able to love God and other humans as God loves us. For that bitterness and resentment stored up in the heart are what often lead people to do what they know will hurt others. But then to turn around and excuse away their sinful behaviors and to blame it on a past hurt or trauma is inexcusable! We must obey God!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Lord, Examine Our Hearts and Minds
An Original Work / July 27, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Your Life

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17
An Original Work / October 22, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Set your hearts and minds on things up above
Where Christ sits with God; not on earthly things.
For you died and your life is now hidd’n with Christ.
When Christ, who is your life, is seen, you will be with Him.

Your sins, put to death. Don’t walk in these ways.
Don’t lie to yourselves or to others, too.
Since you have taken off your old sinful past,
Put on the new self in Jesus. Get rid of such things.

Therefore, holy ones, put on gentleness;
Kindness; patience, too. Be compassionate.
Bear with one another. Forgive others, too.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. O’er all, put on love.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts now.
You were called to peace. Be ye so thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly now
As you teach and instruct others. Sing songs unto Christ.

Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).