The Blameless Life (Psalm 101)

Uh, so first, the blameless heart.

Uh, a poll by Ipsos last year revealed that just nine percent of Brits trust our politicians.

Uh, so that is below advertisers or estate agents or journalists.

Uh, and it's easy to see why, isn't it? Broken promises, spin, sleaze, hypocrisy, and I'm g- going to let you match the description to the politician on the screen.

If David is to renew his government, he first needs to begin with himself.

Verse two: "I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart." The word blameless has a sense of integrity.

No corruption, no compromise.

David knows what is right and wrong, and he will behave accordingly.

Uh, research consistently shows that honesty and integrity are the traits that we value most in our leaders.

The Big Four accountancy firms in the UK all list integrity as one of their core values.

Or listen to the law firm Linklaters.

They say, "We act with integrity, not just doing things right, but doing the right thing." We want leaders who we can trust, whose values do not change, and who behave the same in private as they do in public.

We don't just care about charisma, we care about character.

Integrity matters, and when we don't see it, it really rankles, doesn't it? Uh, some of you might remember these two images from the pandemic.

On the left, the Queen sat alone, socially distanced at the funeral of her husband.

Uh, and then on the right, uh, our then prime minister giving a toast in what later became known as the Partygate scandal.

Uh, the depressing thing I think with democracy is in some sense, we get the leaders we deserve because we voted for them.

We vote based on manifesto pledges and TV debates, and those are helpful things, but it is definitely worth us thinking about character too.

Before God's king worries about his wider team, he begins with his own heart.

And David actually begins with his behavior behind closed doors.

Uh, verse two: I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.

Uh, the sense in this verse is probably his home, so there's no division here between private and public.

Uh, society doesn't always understand that today.

Uh, so politicians shut down negative headlines by saying, "That is just my private life." And yet, if a politician's own wife or husband cannot trust them, then why should anyone else? Uh, be faithful with the small things, and then you could be trusted with bigger things too.

God's king begins with his own heart.