Presumptuous Sins

In Psalm 19:13 David says, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." 

What are presumptuous sins? I reached for the dictionary and found this definition, "failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate." Hmmm. Could we say failing to realize our limits? How might that be demonstrated in our lives?  

For starters:

• Thinking we are more important than we really are
• Having an inflated opinion of ourselves (our looks or opinions)
• Attempting to do something that is beyond our ability
• Thinking we can disregard God's Word and get by

When you look at that list (and there could be more), the root of every one is the original sin of pride and faith in ourselves rather than God. As William Earnest Henley said, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

There is a grain of truth in that statement as God made us creatures of choice. We can decide to follow Christ or not which determines our fate, but it is also true that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."

My mother was a godly person but she had a proper view of God which resulted in a proper view of herself. She said, "The church does not depend on me and will not stop when I'm gone." She was a great asset to the Lord's work and very much missed when she was gone, but He raised up others to take her place. The church of Jesus Christ is still going on twenty-seven years after her death. 

I'm not sitting on top of the world. I can't make everything right that is wrong. I can't live by my own rules (and bend them to my liking) and slide under the door into heaven. Probably 99.99% of the people in this world never heard of me. What I have accomplished in 72 years of living is minuscule when I think of men like William Tyndale, John Wycliffe, Menno Simons, Daniel Kauffman, Jim Elliot, and others. 

Keep me from presumptuous sins--from thinking I'm more important or powerful than I really am. I am not indispensable. The church of Jesus Christ will go on without me and He already has people prepared to take my place. 

"The Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."