VERSE:
An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
—Psalm 36:1-2

THOUGHT:
One of the major philosophies that have plagued our culture is relativism. Relativism teaches that truth is relative to the person believing it is true (truth is made up individually); there are no absolutes. It teaches that what may be true for one person isn’t necessarily true for everyone. This would include an absolute standard of morals, such as the law of God (the 10 commandments). Most people would say that the 10 commandments are good, but they would not say that they are absolutely significant for every person in our culture. Therefore we are accountable to no one but our own consciences. We are relatively good in our own eyes. Though most people believe in God, the lack of godly fear makes it impossible for us to detect, much less hate our own sin.

APPLICATION:
Understand that truth and morals are NOT relative, but that God has established and revealed an absolute standard which we have all broken. This should produce godly fear in our hearts making us able to detect sin in our own lives, hate that sin, and turn from it towards the mercy of God.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, produce in me godly fear which enables me to detect and hate the sin in my life. Help me to see the truth unfiltered by the flattery of my own eyes. I trust in the mercy of the cross for the grace to turn from sin towards you. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN!