The Secret to David’s Strength—and Ours—in a Corrupt World

שָׁמַר – Shamar Your Heart and Actions; Reflections from Psalm 17 on How to Live a Successful Life God's Way

I’ve learned that character is tested in two places: when a crowd surrounds you, and when no one else is looking.

Scene one: I was 23 years old at a bachelor party. The limo was full of intoxicated men, loud music, and a “best man” who acted like the worst man, rallying the group to take the night to a strip club. I wasn’t perfect that night. I’d had a couple of beers, but something in me pumped the brakes. I respectfully, in front of the whole crowd, asked if they could drop me off before they went. I told them I’d rather stay back.
To my surprise, the groom and every other guy decided to stay back too.

It’s a funny story, maybe even silly, but at that moment, I chose to walk a different path. It reminded me of something David modeled: you can live in the world without letting it shape you. ✨

Scene two: A few months ago, I was cleaning the car, like the noble husband and father I am (😄), using a vending machine-style car wash and vacuum station. After the hard work of putting my car in neutral and admiring the wash tunnel, I parked next to the vacuums. I noticed some cleaning rags nearby and used one.

Later, I realized I had accidentally taken one home with me. I kept picturing that car wash in my mind, feeling convicted. Days passed. Finally, I drove back, told the attendant, and offered to pay for the rag.

He laughed and said, “You don’t have to pay for it. We have plenty.”

He didn’t care. But God saw it. And that matters to me. ✨

Why would I return a rag that probably cost ten cents?

Because I’ve been entrusted with things far more valuable than that rag. And if I can’t steward something small with integrity, how can I be trusted to shepherd anything greater?

David says in Psalm 17:4:

“Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded.”

The Hebrew word שָׁמַר (shamar) means to guard, to keep, to protect. It was often used in the context of a covenant—a non-negotiable relationship with the King of kings.

David rooted his moral compass not in convenience or culture, but in divine revelation—what God Himself had spoken. In David's day, that meant the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, which revealed God's character and will. That, along with how God revealed Himself, was how David walked in a profound relationship with God—even when the culture was going the opposite direction.

David understood the power of this relationship so deeply that he often valued it above his own life. With God, he knew life was more than a brief dash on earth. Life was eternal. So even when everyone else chose violence, shortcuts, or compromise, David said: I won’t walk that way. I’ve listened to what God’s lips have spoken. I’ve built my life on it.

If you want to live a life of meaning and spiritual success—one that God honors—you must learn to shamar your heart. 🛡️ Guard it through the Word. Protect it by choosing integrity when compromise would be easier. Keep it set apart, even when the crowd calls you weak for doing so.

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Never Finished Challenge: Shamar Your Heart

This week, ask God to search your heart and show you one area where you can walk with deeper integrity. Return the rag. Say no to the invite. Forgive the debt. Let your life be shaped by what God's lips have spoken—not what culture screams.

And remember: what you guard today is what God can entrust tomorrow. And the ability to choose—though difficult—is possible because of the time you invest in your relationship with God every day: in His Word, in community, in what you listen to, watch, and give your attention to. 🙏

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What does today say about God?

God is not sitting back in anxiety, waiting for you to make the right decision. He isn’t standing there with a whip in His hand if you make the wrong one either.

What I have experienced—and I’m sure you have too—is that He stays with us, quietly stirring our spirit, gently nudging us toward the right thing. Then, it’s up to us to decide.

And I’ve failed to decide well more times than I can count.

But God has never whipped me. He disciplines me like a father disciplines his son or daughter—to shape character, not to condemn.

The truth about my sin? I deserve death.

The truth about God? He gave, and still gives, Himself. He gave us eternal life with Him. ❤️

What a Father. What a Teacher. What a Friend. What a King.
Thank you, Jesus

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