It is much appreciated when people who do social media posts reveal that their lives are less than perfect. So many posts on Facebook and Instagram fuel the lie that other people’s lives are ideal. Their families are ideal. Their meals are ideal. Their vacations are ideal. Their date nights are ideal. The truth is that a lot of life is mundane and less than ideal. When people tell the truth and include even the messy parts of life it’s actually encouraging because we realize that being human is less than ideal. It’s okay. Permission to be human! That doesn’t mean we have permission to sin because “that’s just what humans do.” It means that we should give ourselves and others some grace. It means that even when there is sin in our own lives or the lives of others, we do our best to seek forgiveness, give forgiveness and resolve to walk in the truth. This week we’ll be looking at another chapter in David’s life we could title, “Keeping it Real.” His faith faltered. He messed up. He consulted with himself and “listened to the fool.” He was a backslider. He caved in to the ways of the world. He lied. One lie led to another lie which led to more lies. The secular man would say David was a shrewd operator. The moralist would say David was a complete failure. The writer of 1 Samuel didn’t assess a label to David, he simply told the story. Let’s praise God for His mercy and the glory of the gospel!